


Married Life

by gxldenskyes



Series: Down to Earth [2]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 59,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29240340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxldenskyes/pseuds/gxldenskyes
Summary: Sarah Jane and John are a normal, happy married couple. Well, when the aliens are not there.
Relationships: Donna Noble/Shaun Temple, Martha Jones/Mickey Smith, Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith, Rani Chandra/Clyde Langer, Sanjay/Luke Smith
Series: Down to Earth [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147088
Comments: 40
Kudos: 10





	1. The Honeymoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane and John are on their honeymoon but they can’t escape home so easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i might not have been able to totally let go of these particular characters so here we are hehe. enjoy!

Sarah Jane put her book down as she heard her phone begin to ring. She picked up the phone and smiled when she read her son’s name on the screen. She answered the phone as she looked over the beach in front of her.

“Hi Luke.” Sarah Jane smiled, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We actually just got caught up with a Graske.” Luke explained.

“What?” Sarah Jane sat up, taking off her sunglasses. Sarah Jane and John were on their honeymoon and she had been apprehensive to leave the kids on their own, knowing aliens would chance their luck, “What happened?”

“Well, we were planning to have a barbecue and Clyde and Rani were on their way when Mr. Smith detected a transmission of a crashed Graske ship. We went to where it landed which turned out to be behind the Primark car park. We then were running around the high street until Sanjay managed to trap him in the baby section of Debenhams.” Luke explained.

“He’s getting good.” Sarah Jane giggled, “What happened after that?”

“Mr. Smith managed to get him back to Griffoth with that teleportation device dad built the other week.” Luke replied. He rubbed his head as he sighed, “It was quite interesting to say the least.”

“I can imagine.” Sarah Jane laughed, “Everything okay apart from that? How’s Sky?”

“Yeah, everything’s good. Sky’s good too. Clyde is currently teaching her how to work the barbecue.” Luke said.

“Oh gosh.” Sarah Jane said. She noticed John in the water, his back to hers. She had no idea what he was doing but she just focused on the call instead.

“How’s Spain so far? Are you having fun?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s lovely. We’ve been spending most of the time at the beach but it’s been good. We’re going to some of the museums tomorrow and there is a market that we’re going to on Saturday.” Sarah Jane explained.

“That sounds good. How’s dad?” Luke asked.

“He’s good. I think he’s currently taking samples of the sea.” Sarah Jane frowned, “Oh no, he’s got seashells. I think he’s collecting shells so everyone has one for when we come back.”

“Can’t wait.” Luke laughed, “Oh, I better go. Clyde’s dishing out the burgers. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay, talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”

“Love you too, mum.”

Sarah Jane hung up the phone and smiled as she put it down at the side. She was about to pick up her book when she noticed John approaching, his hands full of seashells. 

“Look,” John joined her on the sunbed next to her, “There’s one for Sky, I think she’d like that one.” He said as he showed her the shells. He took out a larger one, “What about this one for Sanjay?”

“John, I’m sure we can find them other things to bring back that aren’t shells.” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“Like what? These shells are brilliant! You can’t get any of these shells back home.” John studied the shells.

“There are plenty of beaches back home with plenty of shells.” Sarah Jane replied.

“But none like these.” John raised a brow before handing her a white clam shell. Sarah Jane looked at the shell, opening it up to find it empty, “There weren't any pearls inside. Sorry.”

“That’s alright.” Sarah Jane giggled, “It’s beautiful. I’m not sure how we’re going to get all those seashells through customs though. They might think we’re smuggling something.”

“Like what?” John frowned.

Sarah Jane simply laughed. John watched her as she turned to lie on her front, picking up her book once more. John watched over the beach as he frowned. He looked back at Sarah Jane.

“What will we be smuggling?”

\- - -

Sky watched the television as she crossed her arms. She was home alone with Luke and Sanjay out in the town. Sky sighed as she flicked through the channels but there was nothing on. As she turned her head, Sky caught a glimpse of a large envelope on the coffee table. She had opened it earlier and found that they were the photos from Sarah Jane and John’s wedding. Sky thought it would probably be good to call her mum and tell her they arrived. Sky dialled the number on her mobile and waited for an answer.

“Hello?” Sarah Jane answered.

“Hi, mum.” Sky smiled.

“Oh, hello, Sky.” Sarah Jane replied as she dodged a laser. Sky frowned as she heard the laser shoot past through the phone, “Two seconds, Sky,” Sarah Jane crouched behind a market stand, “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. What was that sound?” Sky asked.

“Oh, you know, a laser.” Sarah Jane shrugged. She tried her best to hide herself behind the large stand, “Your father and I got caught with some Spanish Slitheen.”

“I didn’t know the Slitheen knew Spanish.”

“Neither did I. I guess your father might have been right when he told me to start learning Spanish before we came here.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky that dad used to be a really old Time Lord that knew almost every language there is to know?”

“It definitely is a bonus. What did you want to talk about? I might have to hang up soon, I’m not sure where dad is so I might have to make a run for it.”

“No that’s fine. I just wanted to tell you that your wedding photos arrived.”

“Really?” Sarah Jane beamed. She seemed to forget she was in the middle of pursuing one of the most infamous alien families abroad, “Have you had a look at them? Have they turned out okay?”

“Yeah, I have. They look really good.” Sky nodded. She then heard another laser shoot past down the phone, “I better let you go, eh?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you when I’m done and I’ll explain what’s going on.” Sarah Jane said. Another laser shot past, “Oh, Christ, they’re getting closer. I’ll call you later, I love you.”

“Love you too.” Sky smiled though a little worried about her mum and dad.

Sarah Jane hung up before she looked around for something vinegary. She finally found a large jar of pickled onions as she frowned. A jar of pickled onions at a Spanish market was not what she expected to see but then again, she didn’t expect to see a Slitheen either. She unscrewed the lid, turning up her nose at the strong smell. She stood up as the Slitheen that had been shooting in her direction approached. She quickly threw the contents of the jar over them before ducking behind the market again. She saw some of the Slitheen guts splatter around her and thankfully, she didn’t get anything on her. 

Sarah Jane stood up, brushing some dirt from her skirt. She looked around for any more Slitheen but instead, she was met with John who stood in front of the market. John was covered in the Slitheen guts. He clearly had been standing behind the Slitheen when she threw the pickled onions at them. Sarah Jane rubbed her lips together as she walked around the market slowly, trying very hard to not laugh. John gave her a bit of a dirty look as he shook the green splurge off his hands.

“Don’t laugh.” John warned her.

“I’m not going to.” Sarah Jane tried her best to suppress her laughter but couldn’t.

“It’s not funny!” John groaned as he raised a brow.

“I’m not laughing.” Sarah Jane started to laugh more. She held her stomach as she laughed, tears now appearing at her eyes.

“Stop it.” John rolled his eyes. She continued to laugh, “Stop it!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane stood up straight as her laughter finally calmed down, wiping her eyes. She walked over to him, “Let’s go. I think we’ve sorted everything here.”

John just nodded. They started to walk in the direction of their hotel. Sarah Jane crossed her arms as John stuffed his hands in his pockets. He then started to laugh at himself.

“Do you want a hug?” John asked.

“Eww, no!” Sarah Jane exclaimed, “I’m not hugging you until you have a shower.”

“Oh, come on. It’s our honeymoon.” John pouted before starting to laugh as he threatened to hug her.

“John, this is my favourite skirt, don’t you dare!” Sarah Jane started to walk faster.

“Oh come on, Mrs. Smith, don’t you want to hug your husband?” John held out his arms as she walked faster and faster.

“No!” Sarah Jane laughed, starting to run, “Don’t you dare!”

“Come here!” John laughed, running after her.

\- - -

Sarah Jane rushed through to the bedroom as she heard her mobile ringing. She picked it up as she sat on the bed, relaxing against her pillow.

“Hiya.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Hey, Sarah Jane!” Clyde replied, “How’s it going? You enjoying yourself?”

“Yeah, it’s been good.” Sarah Jane giggled as she stretched out her legs, “It’ll be nice to get home though.”

“Yeah, not long now. You’re missing me the most, huh?” Clyde laughed. Sarah Jane could picture that cheeky grin in her head.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes with a laugh.

“Clyde?” She heard Rani in the background.

“Oh, I better pass you onto her majesty. That’s actually why I was calling.” Clyde explained, “I’ll speak to you later.”

“Speak to you later.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Hello?” Rani answered the phone.

“Hello.” Sarah Jane said back. John was just coming into the room as he joined her on the bed. He kissed her cheek before resting his head on her lap. He kissed her bare knee before Sarah Jane started running her fingers through his hair, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. How are you?” Rani asked. A grin growing on her face, “How’s the honeymoon?”

“It’s been very fun, thank you.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Good. I just wanted to ask you, what was the name of that scientist guy that created that machine that made him young? Remember he then turned into that big lobster thing.”

“Richard Lazarus. How come?”

“I’m writing an article for uni about him. Don’t worry, I’m using UNIT approved sources. I won’t get John, Martha or the Doctor in trouble.”

“Good good. How’s things at home?”

“Yeah, good. I’m assuming you heard about the Graske.”

“Yeah, I did. I was surprised that it took that long for an alien to appear after we went away.”

“Me too! I heard about the ‘Spanish Slitheen’.” Rani laughed.

“Oh yeah! I assume you heard about John getting covered in guts too?” Sarah Jane giggled, unaware of John turning his head and glaring at her for a moment.

“Yep! It’s a shame you didn’t take a photo of him.” Rani replied.

“I would have but he was determined to hug me with it all over him so I had to keep my distance.” Sarah Jane laughed.

“Oh, dear.” Rani chuckled, “Well, I better let you go but thank you for giving me that guy’s name.”

“No problem. If you need anymore articles, I can get Luke to go onto my computer and email you the ones I wrote. I’m sure I still have some saved.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I think you should be fine but thank you. I’ll let you know if I need them though.” Rani said.

“Okay. Well, I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Yeah. Bye, Sarah Jane.”

“Bye!”

“Who was that?” John asked as he watched Sarah Jane hang up the phone and put it on the side.

“Rani. She’s writing an article on Richard Lazarus and couldn’t remember his name.” Sarah Jane explained as she continued to stroke his hair.

“That’ll be fun.” John raised his brows, “I wonder if there’ll be any photos of him.”

“I’m not sure,” Sarah Jane frowned, “I can’t remember if they released photos of him.”

“They were probably worried to have that very good looking man in the back of each one anyway. Everyone swooning for him.” John grinned.

“Oh yeah, totally.” Sarah Jane nodded sarcastically.

“Oh come on, I bet you would absolutely fancy the socks of him.” John sat up as he moved closer to her, his hand on her bare thigh where her dress skirt was riding up.

“I don’t know. I think I would have to get to know him first. He might be very shallow and a bit of a know-it-all.” Sarah Jane replied. John’s mouth dropped open in playful shock. Sarah Jane started to laugh, her hand on his upper arm, “I’m only joking. I think I would find him very attractive. And very smart.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.”

“I think he would quite like you too. Especially your lovely legs.” John stroked her outer thigh as she laughed.

Sarah Jane cupped his face as she kissed him. They giggled into the kiss, John holding onto her waist as he brought her closer. They relaxed onto the bed, clinging to each other tightly as their kiss grew more heated.

\- - -

“Here you go,” John handed the taxi driver money, “Keep the change.”

“Thanks.” The driver smiled at the two before getting in the car.

Sarah Jane put her bag over her shoulder as she grabbed her suitcase. John smiled as he grabbed his suitcase before putting his arm around Sarah Jane.

“Home sweet home eh?” John smiled.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane chuckled. She looked at him, “It’s a bit chilly though, isn’t it?”

“Missing the heat already?” John asked.

“Nah. Too warm for me.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“Never pleased.” John shook his head jokingly as the two chuckled. They then kissed for a moment or so.

“Sarah.” They heard Gita call from across the street.

“Sarah Jane.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she muttered under her breath before turning to Gita, “Gita!”

“Oh my darlings, you look so lovely and tanned.” Gita chuckled as she hugged the two, “How was the honeymoon?”

“It was brilliant.” John wrapped his arm around Sarah Jane as he leaned a little towards Gita, “Honestly the scenery was outstanding.”

“Aww I’m glad! You know I didn’t enjoy our honeymoon. Haresh insisted on going to Brussels. There’s nothing there!” Gita explained.

“Really?” John raised a brow. Sarah Jane tried to suppress a sigh. He always seemed to get into quite in-depth conversations with Gita, “I thought it would have been quite interesting.”

“Not at all.” Gita shook her head, “Depends if you’re an old boring fart like Haresh.”

John laughed.

“Sorry, Gita, we better be getting inside. We’re both quite tired and…” Sarah Jane said.

“Oh, of course. I was actually on the way to the shops, do you need anything in?” Gita asked.

“Um, no thank you. Luke said he got some stuff in the other day so I think we’re all set.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“Okay dokey. Well, my darlings, I’ll leave you to it.” Gita nodded as she walked down the driveway, “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” John and Sarah Jane said in unison.

The couple then headed towards the door as John unlocked it. He let Sarah Jane go in before him before he brought the suitcases in.

“Luke?” Sarah Jane called through the house, putting her bag down at the side, “Sky?”

John was going back out to get another suitcase when Sarah Jane spotted something go past her. She turned quickly until she realised what it was. It was a Travast Polong. 

“John, shut the door quick!” Sarah Jane exclaimed.

John closed the door quickly as they noticed the alien at their feet. The slug-like creature made strange noises before rushing into the kitchen. Sarah Jane and John looked at one another before they started to laugh, Sarah Jane resting her head against John’s chest.

“Oh it never ends, does it?” Sarah Jane fake whined into his chest.

“No, it doesn’t.” John laughed as Sarah Jane looked at him, “But I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“No. I wouldn’t either.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She stood on her tiptoes as she kissed his lips, “Let’s go get this alien then. And don’t let it out this time.”


	2. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Sky go out for a day of shopping but a change of weather changes the course of the day.

“And today, it will be sunny and bright all around with highs of twenty degrees celsius.” The weather woman explained on the television.

“John!” Sarah Jane called from the living room.

“Yeah?” John walked into the living room.

“That’s the weather. Sunny all day.” Sarah Jane pushed her reading glasses on top of her head.

“Oh that’s good.” John joined her on the couch, “You know it’s good that we run after aliens every second day because I think if I went shopping with Sky and we didn’t, my feet would be covered in blisters.”

Sarah Jane giggled. She then swung her legs over his lap as she cuddled into his arm. John rested his head against hers as he held onto her legs.

“I wish you were coming today.” John pouted.

“I have to work, dear.” Sarah Jane replied, “Besides you’ll have a great day with Sky. A father, daughter day.”

“Yeah. Still, it would have been nice that you were still able to come.” John turned to her, “I’ll try and buy you something nice.”

“Oh, thanks.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Not that I need anything. You’ve spoiled me too much these past couple of months.”

“And I’d like to spoil you even more. For as long as I can.” John winked.

Sarah Jane cupped his head as she kissed his temple. She then smiled, cuddling into him again.

“What are you planning to do today? Except copious amounts of writing.” John asked.

“I was planning to go for a jog actually.” Sarah Jane turned to him.

“Really?” John raised a brow, “You don’t jog?”

“I do. Sometimes. It helps me clear my head a little. I only ever do it when everyone’s out but I haven’t done it in a while. I think I should because I think I’ve grown a little wine belly since Spain.” Sarah Jane giggled as she patted her stomach.

“I like your wine belly.” John chuckled, “I did wonder why you were wearing athletic leggings though.”

“Do you like them?” Sarah Jane stood up. She showed off her leggings with her oversized grey sweater, “I got them the other day just after we got caught up with that Star Poet. Remember the one that was in the shopping centre.”

“So that’s why you and Rani disappeared.” John said.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane giggled. She joined him back on the couch as she tightened her ponytail, “Is there anywhere you’re planning to go?”

“I think Sky wants to go that Urbaner Outfits...”

“Urban Outfitters.”

“Yeah, that one.”

“Dad?” Sky called from the hall.

“In here.” John called back.

Sky walked into the living room as she noticed her parents sitting on the couch. She was fiddling with her bag as she looked up at them. Sky had started wearing makeup more and she had some on today. She had a little bit of mascara on her cheekbone that she hadn’t noticed.

“You ready?” John asked.

“Yeah.” Sky nodded, “You?”

“Yes.” John nodded. He slapped his thighs before he stood, “I shall see you later.” John leaned down to Sarah Jane. He pressed a soft kiss against her lips as he smiled.

“I’ll see you later.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Love you.” John said.

“Love you too.” Sarah Jane replied, kissing him once more.

John kissed the top of her head before letting Sky go over to her mother.

“Have fun.” Sarah Jane smiled as she hugged Sky.

“I will.” Sky nodded, “See you later.”

“Oh, hold on.” Sarah Jane still held her hand. Sky thought wanted to tell her something but Sarah Jane simply wiped the mascara on her cheek, making sure not to smudge her makeup, “There you go. Beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Sky chuckled, “Love you, mum.”

“Love you too.” Sarah Jane kissed her cheek.

“Have a good day.” John said as the two left the living room.

“You too!” Sarah Jane replied, “Be careful.”

“We will!”

\- - -

Sky and John walked along the street. They had already bought some things so they had a couple of shopping bags already. They talked as they walked, heading into another shop. John watched as Sky looked at some of the clothes before he walked over to some clothes. He picked up a t-shirt, turning to her.

“Sky?” John called, “What do you think? You’d look nice in that.”

“No.” Sky shook her head before starting to laugh.

John shrugged. He put the t-shirt back before looking at some of the home trinkets. He was aware of some people coming into the shop but as he looked up, he frowned. John noticed they had umbrellas and then he looked out the large windows and noticed it was now raining.

“Oh no.” John frowned, “It’s raining.”

“Ugh.” Sky huffed, “Starbucks is next door, we could go there until it stops.”

“Yeah, why not. I’m getting a little peckish anyways.” John smiled.

John and Sky soon left the shop and rushed into the coffee shop next door. Thankfully, they didn’t spend too long in the rain to get wet. The Starbucks they went into was quite busy but they managed to get seats near the windows that were surprisingly very comfortable. They talked as they ate and drank their coffee but suddenly, John’s phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket, reading the caller ID before showing it to Sky.

“Her majesty.” John smirked. He answered with a soft chuckle, “Hello, my darling.”

“You need to come home now.” Sarah Jane said with a stern tone.

“Why? What’s wrong?” John asked. He started to panic. Was there something wrong? Had she been hurt? Had something happened to the kids? Sky noticed John sit up and she was on full alert too. She put her mug down, her eyes wide.

“John, look at the sky!” Sarah Jane said. She was pacing the attic before going to the window, “That’s not right. The weather said sunny all day!”

“They can get it wrong, Sarah.” John chuckled, “A bit of rain is nothing to worry about.”

“Look at the bloody sky!” Sarah Jane snapped before she rubbed her head, letting out a little sigh.

John looked out the window next to him and his eyes widened. The sky was dark and the clouds were purple. The clouds seemed to move fast as the rain battered down. It was far from the bright blue skies they had this morning. People ran past the window as they tried to find shelter but people in the coffee shop were looking out the window too. 

“We’re coming right now.” John simply said down the phone and hung up.

Sky was thankful she had forgotten to take her umbrella out of her backpack. She opened it up as John took it from her. They kept close as they lightly jogged towards the car park where John’s car was. They got in and soon, they were back home. They figured Sarah Jane was in the attic and headed straight upstairs.

When they entered the attic, Sarah Jane stood in front of Mr. Smith. She bit her thumbnail as she turned to the two. John was surprised by how worried she was but didn’t understand why.

“Hi.” John said as Sky went over to Sarah Jane.

“Are you both alright?” Sarah Jane asked. She cupped Sky’s face as she checked her over.

“Yeah, we’re fine.” Sky nodded, “What’s going on?”

“Something’s controlling the weather. I don’t know what but there’s something that’s made it start to rain.” Sarah Jane explained, “It’s not just any rain either. It’s acid rain.”

“What do you mean ‘acid rain’?” John asked.

“There have been reports of people being burnt when the rain started. Pretty much everyone in America is inside.” Sarah Jane explained.

“But that was normal rain. Perfectly normal, clean water.” John stepped forward.

“It’s changing. The news has said that it starts off as normal rain and then turns into acid. The last reported country was Turkey.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Mr. Smith, show us news reports.” John instructed.

“Certainly, John.” Mr. Smith replied.

John and Sky watched the news reports about the worldwide storm. Sarah Jane walked up the steps as she crossed her arms. She had no idea what could have caused this. She couldn’t help but worry, thinking this was too big for them this time. Sarah Jane was too caught up in her thoughts to listen to anything going on around her. She jumped a little when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Sarah Jane turned to see John standing behind her.

“Are you okay?” John asked quietly, sure not to worry Sky who stood near Mr. Smith.

“How can we stop this? This is so big.” Sarah Jane said.

“I’ve got Mr. Smith scanning the rain and trying to track what triggered it.” John rested his hands on her upper arms, “We’ll figure this out.”

“I don’t think we have a lot of time to do that.” Sarah Jane looked down at the ground.

“Hey.” John gripped her chin, lifting her head to look at him, “It’ll be okay. You don’t need to worry.”

“How can you be so sure?” Sarah Jane asked quietly.

“Because we’re the best team in the world.” John smiled.

“Dad?” Sky turned.

“Yeah?” John turned to look at Sky. He took Sarah Jane’s hand in his as he faced his daughter.

“I cannot find what triggered the rain but there is a very strong signal coming from what seems to be an abandoned farm outside Ealing.” Mr. Smith showed pictures on his screen.

“Could that signal lead to the trigger of the storm?” John asked.

“There is a strong possibility that it could, yes.” Mr. Smith replied.

“If we go there, we could maybe find a way to stop it.” John looked at Sarah Jane and Sky. He then turned to Mr. Smith, “Mr. Smith, do you have any technology that can trigger rain? Normal rain. Anything you can think of.”

Sarah Jane suddenly had an idea. She went behind the couch as she noticed the large blue cover that covered the machine. She pulled it off and smiled at the memories it triggered.

“John?”

John turned to look at Sarah Jane. She was pulling a large machine from behind the couch. It looked like a car engine with some objects, including parts of a trumpet, that had been stuck on. He frowned as he walked up the steps.

“What’s this?” John asked.

“It’s my rain machine. Well, not exactly. When the Uvodni came and they had that laser tag centre called Combat 3000, everytime children were sent to their ship, it would start to rain. Maria and I built this machine to find a way to trace any energy that could have been left by the aliens in the storms.” Sarah Jane explained, “I don’t know if it still works though. I don’t have many uses for it.”

“Sarah, this is brilliant.” John walked around as he inspected the machine, “We’ll get it working and it’ll be perfect.” He walked around it once more, “There’s just one problem.”

“What?” Sarah Jane asked.

“How are we going to get it in the car?” John asked.

Mr. Smith sent the directions to John’s phone and told them they had at least an hour. It took twenty minutes to get to the farm. The three rushed downstairs in their best waterproof jackets. They managed to get the rain machine into John’s car as Sarah Jane got in the driver’s seat. They drove to the farm and whilst Sarah Jane and John had a brief argument about whether John’s phone was telling them to go forward or right, they finally got there in the end. John got the rain machine out of the car as Sarah Jane and Sky picked out the highest point. The rundown farm was surrounded by fields with large hills and they headed towards the largest that was on the left hand side. 

The rain was heavy as they ran up the hill. The rain machine had it’s cover on it and John went under it as he sonicked the machine, trying to get it working and get it to the setting they needed. Sarah Jane and Sky stayed close to each other, trying their best to keep warm. John came out from under the cover as he then took it off.

“Have you got it working?” Sarah Jane asked as she walked around the machine, holding Sky’s hand.

“I think so.” John nodded before looking up at the sky, “I think that’s the acid rain coming now.” He grabbed the protective cover for the machine, “I’ll hold this over us and when I tell you to, Sky, I want you to pull that lever, okay?”

“Yeah.” Sky nodded. She held onto the lever as John held the protective cover over their heads.

The three kept an eye on the sky, watching what they suspected was the acid rain. John noticed small burn holes being created on the cover and he knew it was time.

“Now, Sky.”

Sky pulled the lever down as the machine let out a loud horn-like sound. Gold energy left the machine into the sky but nothing happened. Sarah Jane looked at the small monitor at the side.

“Nothing’s happening.” Sarah Jane looked at John.

“Go again.” John instructed Sky.

Sky pulled the lever down again as they watched the action repeat. Once again, nothing happened.

“Once more, Sky.” John nodded.

Sky pulled the lever one more time. Again, like the two times beforehand, nothing seemed to happen but finally, the rain started to batter down. John brought Sarah Jane and Sky closer to him as they stayed under the shelter. Sarah Jane held out her hand to the rain, the water falling onto the palm of her hand.

“Is it water?” Sky asked.

“That’s water alright.” John nodded as he used his sonic screwdriver to scan the water in Sarah Jane’s palm. He put the plastic cover down on the ground , “Perfectly clean, normal water.”

The three giggled in delight, knowing they stopped the acid rain. John kissed the top of both Sarah Jane and Sky’s head but suddenly, the machine started to spark. They stepped back as they kept close.

“Was that the rain that did that?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No,” John shook his head, “That wasn’t you, Sky, was it?”

“No.” Sky replied.

The three slowly turned to see a man approaching them on the hill. He looked like a farmer but he held what looked like an alien gun. He aimed it at them, ready to shoot.

“Run!” John exclaimed as he made Sarah Jane and Sky get away first.

The farmer shot at them but missed, shooting the rain machine instead. The three decided to head for the farm, knowing there had to be something here. They got to the bottom of the hill, now going around the house quietly. Sarah Jane heard voices through the window as she turned to look into the window.

“What is it?” John asked as he looked into the dirty window too.

“I heard voices.” Sarah Jane whispered, “Look. That’s alien technology, right?”

“Yeah.” John nodded, “We might have just found the trigger.”

“Go check the signals.” They heard someone say inside.

The three squinted as they looked into the window. They heard footsteps approaching from inside, unsure of what to expect. The large green alien walked over to the controls and their stomachs all dropped. It was the Slitheen. Again.

“Oh for crying out loud!” John exclaimed. The Slitheen inside turned around and the three ducked from the window.

“Nice one, John.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

“What? I didn’t mean it!” John replied, “Honestly, they never stop!”

“You didn’t need to shout it out loud.” Sarah Jane huffed.

“Mum?” Sky said softly.

“Well, come on. They’re always here. You can’t blame me.” John replied.

“Dad?” Sky said as she shook his arm.

“Honestly over nine hundred years old and you still can’t keep quiet!” Sarah Jane frowned.

“Oh now, it’s about age is it?” John asked.

“Dad!” Sky shouted.

“What?” John turned to see the farmer approaching. He aimed the gun at them, “We need to move.”

The three got up, Sarah Jane leading the way as they ran around the corner. The Slitheen that appeared at the window was now outside and grabbed Sarah Jane. She yelped when they grabbed her, their claws at her throat.

“Let me go!” Sarah Jane exclaimed.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” The Slitheen laughed.

“Sarah!” John exclaimed as he kept Sky close to him. They went to step forward but the Slitheen’s grip on Sarah Jane grew tighter.

“One step closer and she’s dead.” The Slitheen pointed.

The farmer had not long appeared behind John and Sky as he pointed the alien gun at their backs. 

“What do you want with this planet?” John asked in a stern tone. 

“We have always seen Earth as good profit. In fact, it would make our family a fortune.” The Slitheen holding Sarah Jane explained, “After our failed attempts, we decided that acid rain would be perfect. Destroy everything and everyone.”

“Murder for a quick buck? Nah, I don’t think so.” John shook his head, “I think it’s best you leave. It’s done now. We stopped it.”

“That’s what you think.” The Slitheen said, “But your pathetic machine didn’t affect our technology. We can get that rain back on in the flip of a switch.”

“You can?” John raised his brow as he passed his sonic screwdriver slyly to Sky.

“Oh yes. This world will cease to exist and the Slitheen will be the richest family in the universe!” The Slitheen laughed.

“Nah, I don’t think so.” Sky said, holding the sonic screwdriver to the Slitheen and activated it. The sonic device had been set to create a loud sound that would affect the hearing of the Slitheen.

Both the Slitheen that held Sarah Jane and the farmer (who they already suspected was a Slitheen too) grabbed their ears, crying out in agony. The Slitheen let Sarah Jane go as John grabbed her. Sky ran into the house. John had recently taught her morse code and when they stood close, he had tapped a message on the back of her hand. ‘Get in the house, destroy machine’. Sky ran in as she found the large technology that controlled the weather. As she ran in, she had caught a glimpse of the other Slitheen inside. They had turned the acid rain back on and had now sent for more Slitheen to come.

“Are you alright?” John asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded as she stayed close to John. She looked around, “Where’s Sky?”

“She went inside. She’s going to destroy the machine.” John replied.

“What? There’s another bloody Slitheen in there!” Sarah Jane’s eyes widened, both totally unaware of the farmer coming out of his disguise.

“She’ll be fine. She’s got the sonic screwdriver.” John replied.

“Oh, that’s just fine then.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“Don’t start, Sarah.” John raised a brow.

Before they could continue bickering, four more Slitheen teleported in front of them. Sarah Jane and John moved closer to each other as their eyes widened, their hearts beating fast. The Slitheen started to close in on them when Sarah Jane felt something burning her shoulder.

“Ow!” Sarah Jane checked her shoulder. Her coat and sweater had been burned through to her skin. She then had an idea, “John, we need to move.”

“How can we? We’re sort of surrounded.” John shrugged.

“The acid rain has started.” She showed him her shoulder, “The Slitheen are calcium based life forms.”

“So?”

“Vinegar is acidic.”

“Vinegar… is acidic! Oh, so it is!”

Sarah Jane and John looked around themselves and managed to rush through a gap between two Slitheen. They ran towards a large bale of hay, making sure they had enough cover as possible. The Slitheen turned around, approaching the bale of hay they hid behind. Sarah Jane and John couldn’t see but could hear the Slitheen start to cry out in pain. Soon, a large blast occurred and Sarah Jane and John held each other close, hoping they would not get covered in the Slitheen guts.

Sky slowly stepped back as the Slitheen approached her. They started to laugh as they held up their claw, ready to attack her. Sky ducked as she let out a squeal. She was able to move closer to the control system and looked around herself.

“I have you now.” The Slitheen turned, “And you won’t be able to go anywhere.”

Sky quickly changed the settings on the sonic screwdriver when she noticed the teleportation device on the Slitheen’s wrist. As they got closer, Sky finally aimed the sonic device.

“See ya.” She smiled, activating the device.

The Slitheen quickly disappeared and Sky sighed a sigh of relief. But she then remembered the technology behind her. Sky turned around quickly as she looked at monitors and buttons. She rubbed her forehead, knowing she had to destroy it. Sky looked down at her hands before starting to create a ball of energy. Slowly, it began to grow larger and larger. When Sky knew it was big enough, she pushed the energy ball into the control system. The power of the energy made Sky fall back to the ground. She looked up as she watched the machine as sparks flew. Sky yelped a little as she tried to protect herself from the sparks.

The machine finally shut down. The room was silent as Sky picked herself up from the floor. Her heart was beating fast, hoping she had done what she was told to. Slowly, the sun started to shine through the windows. Sky had to cover her eyes from the brightness. Sky approached the windows slowly, noticing that it was now sunny and dry. Sky smiled as she sighed. She had done it.

Sarah Jane and John slowly lifted their heads when they felt the rain stop. The sun was splitting the sky as they looked around. They looked back at each other as they started to laugh. They hugged tightly.

“Ah.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Are you alright?” John asked as he broke off the hug.

“It’s just my shoulder. It’s fine.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“Let me have a look.” John said.

“No, it’s fine.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Sarah, let me see it.” John widened his eyes, his hands on her upper arm.

Sarah Jane sighed. She nodded as John pushed her coat off her shoulder. He then pulled her sweater neckline to expose her shoulder. The burn wasn’t too big but it was quite red.

“That looks sore.” John said, “We better get that cleaned up.”

“I am not going to the hospital.” Sarah Jane pointed.

“I’m not taking you to hospital.” John chuckled, “I’ll clean it when we get home.”

Sky stepped out of the house as she noticed her parents talking. They turned to look at her and noticed her slightly shocked look. The overgrown garden they were in was covered in Slitheen guts and Sky turned her nose up to it.

“Eugh.” Sky walked slowly, “I guess the Slitheen’s ideas aren’t always thought through well.” 

Sarah Jane and John laughed as they walked over to their daughter. John hugged Sky as he lifted her from the ground.

“You are brilliant!” He exclaimed as they spun around. Sky laughed before he put her down, “What happened to the other Slitheen?”

“I sent him away.” Sky handed him his sonic screwdriver. She then yawned as she rubbed her eyes, “I’m a little tired.”

“Come on.” John chuckled, “Let’s go home.”

John wrapped his arm around Sarah Jane as she wrapped her arm around his waist. She wrapped her other arm around Sky who walked tiredly with her. Sarah Jane kissed the top of her daughter’s head, a short giggle leaving her lips.

John drove home and when they got home, they found Sky fast asleep in the back of the car. John picked her up and carried her into the house, making sure he didn’t wake her up. He lay her down in her bed and Sarah Jane took off her shoes and coat. Sarah Jane tucked Sky into bed whilst John headed downstairs to grab the first aid kit. Sarah Jane kissed her daughter’s head before hanging Sky’s coat on the door.

Sarah Jane headed upstairs to the attic. Mr. Smith showed her news reports about the storm before John walked into the attic. She turned when she saw him.

“What are they saying then?” John asked as he went over to the couch.

“A natural phenomenon.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “Apparently it occurs once every thousand years.”

“Oh dear.” John laughed. He sat down as he opened up the first aid kit. He then looked up as he tapped the couch, “Come on then. Let’s get this burn cleaned up.”

Sarah Jane joined him on the couch as she pulled her sweater down to expose her shoulder. John put on his reading glasses as he started to clean her burn. Sarah Jane hissed quietly at the pain.

“Sorry.” John said.

“It’s okay.” Sarah Jane chuckled. She looked at him over her shoulder, “You didn’t get hurt, did you?” 

“Nah, I’m alright.” John smiled before looking back at her shoulder, “Sky still asleep?”

“Yeah. She was out like a light. She didn’t stir once when I tucked her in.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. She definitely needed it. She looked shattered.”

“She did.”

“I think I’m gonna build Sky and Luke their own sonics.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I think it'd be best if we all have one.”

“I guess that’s true. It definitely would be handy.”

“I’ll need to ask them what they want the device to look like though. Luke will probably like a sonic pen.”

Sarah Jane chuckled. John put a small bandage over her burn. Sarah Jane looked over her shoulder as she watched John kiss her shoulder, just above her burn. Sarah Jane smiled.

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Anytime.” John smiled back at her. He kissed her cheek softly. Sarah Jane sat back on the couch but frowned when John stood up, “Oh, I forgot something.”

“Where are you going?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I forgot to bring something up. I’ll be right back.” John walked to the door, “You just relax!”

John left the attic and Sarah Jane simply sighed. She sat back against the couch as she crossed her legs. She fiddled with her rings, straightening them when she heard footsteps coming upstairs. John walked back into the room with a small jewellery bag in his hand and a grin on his face. Sarah Jane frowned as he joined her, handing her the bag.

“What’s this?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I said I would buy you something nice.” John smiled. He bounced a little in his seat, “Go on, open it.”

Sarah Jane giggled. She pulled the little black box from the bag as she opened it up. Her jaw dropped slightly as she looked at the necklace inside. It was a simple thin silver chain with a little diamond star gem. 

“It’s not a lot but I know how much you love the stars. I thought you would appreciate it.” John said as he watched her looking at the necklace.

“I love it.” Sarah Jane looked up at him with a grin, biting her lip a little. She took the necklace out of the box as she unclasped it.

Sarah Jane went to put it on but John helped her. Sarah Jane turned away from him as she moved her ponytail onto her shoulder. John did the clasp up and smiled when Sarah Jane turned around. She fiddled with the star gem, studying it before putting back against her chest. She looked back at John.

“Beautiful.” John smiled.

Sarah Jane chuckled. She moved closer as she kissed him softly, her hand resting on the base of his neck. They broke off the kiss as Sarah Jane smiled.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

They kissed once more as the two sat back on the couch. They wrapped their arms around each other, John making sure he didn’t hurt her shoulder. Sarah Jane closed her eyes for a moment as she listened to his heartbeat. She could have drifted off right then and there.

“The Slitheen really can’t leave us alone, can they?” John suddenly said, making Sarah Jane open her eyes.

“Oh, don’t start.” Sarah Jane giggled, her hand on his stomach.

“I don’t understand though. What’s so special about Earth?” John asked.

“Hm, I don’t know. Why were you always on Earth and tore down the walls of reality to get here?” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“Shut up.” John nudged her, Sarah Jane laughing loudly.


	3. Unidentified Flying Object

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rani and Clyde coming over with ‘a story worth investigating’ but Sky isn’t her usual sparky self.

Sarah Jane walked into the kitchen as she turned the kettle on. She grabbed five mugs before going to get some tea bags. As she waited for the kettle to boil, John walked into the kitchen. He put the newspaper on the round table before going over to Sarah Jane. He rested his hand on the slope of her back as he kissed her cheek. 

“Hello.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Hey.” John replied. He looked at her as he opened the cupboard. Sarah Jane wore a navy blue long sleeved shirt that was tucked into a pair of black slacks. She had a pair of heeled black ankle boots on, “You look nice.”

“Thanks.” Sarah Jane said, “Where’s Sky?”

“Upstairs. I think she’s doing homework.” John replied as he took out a jar of marmalade. He put his finger in the spread as he got a good amount on his finger and licked it off, “I haven’t seen her much this morning.”

“Neither have I actually. Clyde and Rani will be over soon. They’re just popping in to see Gita and Haresh the now.” Sarah Jane explained as she poured the hot water into the mugs.

“Okay. What time are Luke and Sanjay coming for dinner on Friday again?” John asked.

“Around half five.” Sarah Jane turned to look at John. He was licking marmalade off his finger, the jar in his hand. Sarah Jane huffed as she grabbed the jar from his hand, “Stop doing that! You’re encouraging some bad habits.”

“It’s only a little bit of marmalade.” John shrugged as he put the lid back on.

“You went through a full jar the other day. And wash your hands, I don’t want your germs in my marmalade.” Sarah Jane stirred the tea.

“Come on, Sarah. It’s only your husband.” John ran his clean hand over her face before going to wash his hands. 

“John!” Sarah Jane exclaimed, moving away as she laughed, “You can be so disgusting sometimes.”

John just laughed as he washed his hands. He then dried his hands on the teatowel when the doorbell went. John noticed Sarah Jane was still making their cups of tea.

“I’ll get it.” John said.

“Okay.” Sarah Jane nodded as she watched him leave the kitchen. 

She continued stirring the tea before putting the spoons in the sink. She turned with a smile as the footsteps in the hall got closer. Finally, Rani and Clyde entered, John following behind.

“Hello, you two.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Hiya.” Clyde said. Sarah Jane handed him his tea, “Thanks.”

“Hi, Sarah Jane.” Rani grinned. She held a piece of paper as she approached her and handed it to her, “A story worth investigating.”

“Oh, what have you got for me now, Rani Chandra?” Sarah Jane said softly as she unfolded the paper whilst handing Rani her tea.

“UFO.” Rani said as she took a sip of her tea, “Supposedly. It landed last night. Some are saying it was an asteroid but some think it could be more.”

“And it landed not too far away. In that old industrial estate by Forest Bank.” Clyde took a biscuit out of the jar.

“Do you two not have any house parties to go to?” Sarah Jane asked, “Is there not anything at uni that cures your alien blues?”

“Not many aliens at uni, is there, Rani?” Clyde said as he took a sip of his tea.

“Maybe one or two. I wouldn’t say they were exactly aliens though.” Rani replied, “Just weird.”

“Let’s go upstairs.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

They all headed upstairs to the attic. Sarah Jane walked in first, noticing Sky sitting at her computer. 

“Mr. Smith, I need you.” Sarah Jane said as she walked down the steps.

Mr. Smith opened up from the wall as he played his fanfare. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. It somehow still surprised her that he played that bloody fanfare every time he came out the wall. John walked over to Sky as he put down her cup of tea at the side. She didn’t lift her head as she wrote down in her jotter but John wasn’t too fazed. He simply kissed the back of her head and went to sit on the steps. Rani and Clyde sat on the couch as they drunk their tea.

“What can I do for you, Sarah Jane?” Mr. Smith asked.

“The industrial estate near Forest Bank. I believe there was some sort of UFO that was spotted.” She raised a brow.

“Yes. I detected it through the night.” Mr. Smith told her.

“And you didn’t care to tell me?” Sarah Jane asked.

“You were asleep, Sarah Jane.” Mr. Smith replied.

Clyde and Rani chuckled quietly as they sat on the couch.

“Did you detect any life forms? Anything at all?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No. Just that the object had entered the atmosphere.” Mr. Smith explained.

“We could always go check it out.” Clyde shrugged.

“Yeah. Just to be safe of course.” Rani nodded, “We’d be doing our bit for the community. Protecting it and all.”

“Oh, fine.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes, “It’d be best to check it out anyways. Just make sure nothing nasty has reached the Earth.”

Rani and Clyde laughed as they high-fived. They soon finished their tea as they put their jackets on, John just behind them. Sarah Jane went over to Sky.

“You coming, Sky?” Sarah Jane asked as she put her jacket on.

“No, I um, I have stuff to do.” Sky said quietly.

“You can take yourself away from your homework for a bit, Sky. It won’t do you any harm.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“I don’t really want to.” Sky replied.

“Oh come on. It’ll be nice to get some fresh air. You’ve been cooped up here all morning.” Sarah Jane offered, “We won’t be long.”

“I said I don’t want to.” Sky said sternly. The light on Sarah Jane’s desk started to flicker. Sky sighed and the flickering stopped.

Sarah Jane frowned. Sky was never really in a bad mood so why was she in one today? It always worried her when Luke or Sky were in a bad mood, mostly because she struggled with how to make them feel better. She also always felt like it was her fault. Especially today. Her heart dropped when Sky said what she said. Sarah Jane played with her keys as she nodded.

“Okay. Well, we won’t be long. Call me if you need me.” Sarah Jane said softly. She kissed the back of Sky’s head, “I love you.”

“Love you.” Sky groaned.

Sarah Jane looked back at Sky as she replied. Had she done something wrong? The past twenty four hours seemed to play back in Sarah Jane’s head. She couldn’t think of anything and that scared her a little more. John stood at the door and gave her a little smile as she slipped past him. John looked back at Sky and sighed softly. He had been a father years and years ago as the Doctor but this was different. There were such little things that caused more heartbreak than he had ever experienced. He wasn’t as present with his children back then than he was now. He wanted to ask Sky. Maybe he could get through to her. Maybe it was something she felt more comfortable discussing with him. He didn’t want to push it. Sometimes it was better to just leave her alone and have that time for her thoughts.

“Love you, Sky.” John said softly.

“Love you.” Sky said in the similar tone she had earlier and with that, John closed the door.

The four headed down to Sarah Jane’s car and got in. As they drove to the industrial estate, John, Clyde and Rani talked. Sarah Jane was quiet, more occupied with how worried she was about Sky than anything else. John noticed this but didn’t want to bring it up in front of Clyde and Rani in case Sarah Jane felt uncomfortable. John took out his phone from his pocket as he talked with Clyde and Rani. He went through his texts and onto his texts with Luke.

“Hey, son.” He typed, “Could you maybe check on your sister at some point today? She’s in a bit of a bad mood and didn’t want to come with us today for some investigating. See you on Friday, love you.”

They pulled up outside of the empty industrial estate. Sarah Jane parked up across the road and they headed in. They were surprised that no one was there at all. Not even the police. John broke the lock with his sonic screwdriver as he opened up the gate. The industrial estate was a decent size and they knew it would be best to split.

“We’ll go this way.” Rani pointed.

“Okay.” John nodded, “We’ll go that way. Call us if you find something.”

“We will.” Rani smiled as she and Clyde started to walk away, her arm linked in his.

Sarah Jane fiddled with her keys as John looked at her. He could tell she was still worried and upset.

“She’ll be fine.” John said softly.

“She’s never like this, John.” Sarah Jane looked at him, “What if there’s something wrong? What if I’ve done something wrong?”

“You won’t have.” John replied, “She’s a teenager, you know what they’re like. She’s the queen of grumpy.”

“Not always.” Sarah Jane said.

“No. That’s usually you.” John chuckled.

“That’s not funny.” She hit his arm, “Brute.”

“Maybe she’s just tired. She was doing her homework, she’ll probably need some peace and quiet. You were the same on the TARDIS. I remember when you would disappear deep into the library or into your room, fingers going like wildfire on that typewriter. Maybe she’s just doing the same.” John reassured her.

“I just hate seeing her like this.” Sarah Jane looked at her feet.

“I know. So do I but we can’t force her to come with us if she doesn’t want to. If she needs space, we need to give her that.” John explained.

“You’re right. I’m scared there’s more to it though.” Sarah Jane said.

“She’ll tell us in her own time. She’s a smart girl, we need to let her make her own decisions.” John said. He then held his hand out, “Come along, Sarah. We have some investigating to do.”

Sarah Jane smiled a small smile at him. She slipped her hand in his as she kept close to him though she was still preoccupied with worrying about Sky. They walked in the opposite direction of Clyde and Rani.

\- - -

“What do you think is wrong with Sky?” Clyde asked, “She was in a right mood before we left.”

“I know. I was surprised she didn’t come with us.” Rani replied, “Maybe she’s just stressed with school. I remember being really stressed at her age.”

“Yeah, that’s cause you had Captain Bligh on your back.” Clyde grinned.

“Shut up.” Rani nudged him, “I just feel bad for Sarah Jane. She looked quite upset when she left the attic. She hardly spoke in the car.”

“Do you think they had an argument? Remember what Luke was like when he fell out with Sarah Jane for the first time.”

“Oh yeah, that was weird. Nah, I don’t think so. I think Sarah Jane would probably be off with her as well and she wasn’t. I guess it’s different with girls though. They can be up and down sometimes. Boys are usually quite level headed. It’ll be strange for Sarah Jane.”

“But you know what Sarah Jane is like too, Rani. She can be a bit of a yo-yo herself.” 

“I know but she only ever had Luke until last year. It’ll still be new. A lot has changed for Sarah Jane.”

“Sky and Sarah Jane are a lot more alike than you think. I mean Sky’s not been here for long but she’s exactly like her. Even John said so.”

“Did he?” Rani frowned as she kept a hold of his arm.

“Yeah. At their wedding, he said Sky was exactly like her.” Clyde explained as they walked towards the large warehouse, “He said she was very headstrong like her. And got him into trouble all the time.”

Rani laughed as she nodded.

“Sounds exactly like Sarah Jane.” Rani said, “I’m glad she’s got John. I think if Sky was like this and she was on her own, I don’t know how she would handle it. She definitely seemed worried before we split up.”

“Yeah. We also have John to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t disappear.” Clyde laughed, “We’ve also got our own Doctor.”

“Finally.” Rani laughed, “It still baffles me that he is the Doctor. Like a human version. I bet Sarah Jane was absolutely thrilled.”

“We know she was. She was hiding it. Not very well though.” Clyde grinned.

“That’s true. How did she not see he was in love with her though? I mean she could tell that we liked each other and then she could tell Sanjay fancied Luke.” Rani replied.

“I think she knew. I mean we all guessed it when he broke through a parallel universe and travelled across Europe just to get to her. If that doesn’t say ‘I love you’, I don’t know what does.” Clyde laughed.

“I know something that says ‘I love you’.” Rani raised a brow.

“Yeah?” Clyde nodded.

“Yeah. You getting me those earrings for Christmas.” Rani smiled.

“We’ll see.” Clyde shook his head sarcastically.

Rani laughed as she kissed his cheek. She moved her hand down his arm as she took his hand. They continued to walk, swinging their hands a little. A loud bang suddenly made them stop in their tracks. They looked at one another with a frown.

“What was that?” Clyde asked.

“Dunno. It came from the warehouse.” Rani pointed.

“Oh great.” Clyde looked up at the warehouse. It was clear it was pretty much derelict and he could feel his stomach turn, “That looks so inviting.”

“Do you think we should call Sarah Jane?” Rani asked, “I mean it could be nothing.”

“Maybe it’s worth us looking before calling her. Like you said, could be nothing.” Clyde shrugged.

Rani nodded. The two walked towards the building, Rani squeezing Clyde’s hand. With every step, they could feel their nerves build more and more. They had no idea what to expect from the warehouse.

The couple approached the warehouse. The large doors to the warehouse were already open so they just walked in. When they walked in, they could see the hole in the roof from where the asteroid crashed. There was rubble and parts of the ceiling that had fallen through on the ground. Clyde led the way as they walked further in, keeping close to Rani as they made sure neither of them fell or hurt themselves. When they reached the centre of the warehouse, they found what was not actually an asteroid but a spaceship. It was similar to a Sontaran ship but the two knew it wasn’t. There was a small fire near the ship, clearly caused by the crash. The ship was open but empty.

“There’s no one here.” Clyde said.

“We’re best to look around. Someone could be hurt.” Rani moved closer to the ship.

“Wait, Rani.” He grabbed her arm, “We don’t know what we’re dealing with. They could be dangerous.”

“But they could be hurt too.” Rani said. There was then another bang which made them turn, “Where did that come from?”

“Over there.” Clyde pointed, “Shh. Can you hear footsteps?”

Before either of them could say anything, something, or more someone jumped out from the shadows. The alien had blue scaley skin, pointed ears and a large tentacle that looked like hair. She was dressed in a similar leather jumpsuit to the one Androvax wore. She laughed as she approached, holding up the gun she held in her hand. Clyde and Rani knew who it was straight away. It was Zyre.

“Oh no.” Clyde said as he grabbed Rani’s hand.

“Run!” Rani exclaimed as they turned around.

Zyre shot at them as they climbed through rubble and large pieces of metal. Zyre laughed as she shot. Clyde and Rani ran towards the entrance, turning the corner as they sprinted, hand in hand.

“We need to find Sarah Jane and John.” Rani said as they ran.

“They went that way.” Clyde pointed before ducking from a laser shooting his way, “Oh, I wish we had Sky right now. She would have sorted that gun right out!”

Clyde and Rani continued to run. They thankfully lost Zyre as they ran through the industrial estate. They noticed Sarah Jane and John in the distance. They were walking quickly towards them but were too occupied in their conversation. Clyde and Rani sped up when they saw them.

“Sarah Jane!” They shouted, “John!”

“There you are!” Sarah Jane said as she and John ran up to the young couple. They stopped as they reached each other and she noticed how breathless Clyde and Rani were, “What’s happened? We heard the bang but we couldn’t find you two anywhere.”

“We found the spaceship. It’s that Zyre chick.” Clyde put his hands on his hips as he panted.

Sarah Jane’s heart dropped. She remembered how Zyre had poisoned her and how ill she became. She felt horrific weeks after it. She didn’t want to risk her life or anyone else’s but they had to do something. John noticed Sarah Jane’s discomfort as he took a hold of her hand, squeezing it gently. John vowed to protect Sarah Jane always and he was going to do that, especially against Zyre after the last time.

“Where is she now?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I don’t know. She followed us but we lost her.” Rani replied.

“Take us to the ship.” Sarah Jane started walking but John stopped her.

“Sarah, you can’t be serious.” John said.

“We need to have a look at her ship. There might be something there. We might find out why she’s here too.”

“You do remember how ill you were because of her? I’m not letting you go anywhere near her. We’re calling UNIT.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. We’ll handle this ourselves. With someone like her, they’ll go gun crazy.”

“And you think the four of us will be able to go up against her.”

“We did last time.”

“And you nearly died in that time.”

“But I didn’t die. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“She could do it again. If not you, she could attack Rani and Clyde. She already has attacked them.”

“John,” Sarah Jane grabbed him by the arm as she brought him away from Clyde and Rani for a moment. Clyde and Rani watched on though they couldn’t really hear much, “We’ve fought her before. We know what she’s capable of. We have better protection, yes?”

“Yes.” John nodded as he looked at his feet.

Sarah Jane lifted his chin to make him look at her. She wore a small smile. 

“We can’t worry. You of all people taught me that.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“I’m not exactly the man I once was.” John shrugged.

“No but you’re my husband and you’re the bravest man I have ever met.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Even though you don’t show it much. You’re too humble now you’re human.”

John chuckled. He looked into her eyes as she smiled at him. John had so much love for her and he could see the love she had for him. He didn’t want to risk her life, he never did. With such a close call with Zyre last time, he didn’t want it to happen again. He almost lost the love of his life before he could have her and he was not willing to lose her now that he did have her. John studied her face for a moment, taking in the features and imperfections he loved so much.

“I just don’t want to lose you.” John said softly.

“You’re not going to.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She held his hands for a moment, giving them a squeeze as she looked back up at him. She smirked, “Do you not think I’m a bit too stubborn to let her try and kill me again?”

“Well.” He shrugged before laughing with her.

The two looked at each other as their laughter died down. Sarah Jane’s smile dropped as she stood on her tiptoes. She pressed her lips to his in a quick kiss. Sarah Jane then broke off the kiss.

“Let’s go.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

John looked down to her hands as he took hers in his. He gave them a soft squeeze before looking back at her. Finally, he nodded.

Sarah Jane turned to look at Clyde and Rani who watched them. She smiled at them as the two walked over to the younger couple. Clyde and Rani knew this was their cue and they silently led the way to the warehouse.

They walked into the warehouse and climbed back into the middle where Zyre had crashed her ship. The four looked around as Sarah Jane and John scanned the area. It was quiet but they were aware of movement outside. They were not sure if it was just the wind or if Zyre had returned. Sarah Jane stood closest to the entrance and she stood as she heard something coming closer. John watched on as he clocked that Sarah Jane was aware of something. Suddenly, Zyre jumped out from behind Sarah Jane. She held out her hand as the same electric wave that almost killed Sarah Jane the last time shot out of her hand.

“Sarah!” John exclaimed as he ran up to her.

Sarah Jane snapped around to Zyre. Before Zyre could attack her, Sarah Jane pointed her sonic lipstick at her and activated it. The sonic lipstick sent the wave back onto Zyre as she screamed out in pain. Zyre held her stomach as she looked up at them. Sarah Jane had looked into the Vokax after their initial encounter with Zyre and knew that their own powers wouldn’t affect them as much as other lifeforms, just hurt them. John took Sarah Jane’s hand as he pulled her back a little. She looked up to him, a little breathless. 

“Alright?” John raised a brow.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I’m fine.”

Zyre grunted which brought their attention back to the situation. John guided Sarah Jane behind him as he stepped forward. Zyre looked up at John when she gained some of her strength as she laughed. 

“She’s quick. She clearly learned her lesson about sneaking up on people.” Zyre said.

“And you didn’t.” John stuck his hands in his pockets before he looked back at Zyre’s ship for a moment, “Stolen another Judoon ship I see and you’ve crashed it. You’re not a very good driver, are you?”

“The engines failed.” Zyre replied, “They knew I would steal one. They set me up. But they were unlucky because I reached my destination.”

“What do you want with Earth?” John asked.

Zyre started to laugh. She then held up her gun at them as they packed away a little.

“After you made the Judoon arrest me, I decided to take my revenge. In that ship, there are one hundred cans of gas that I made when I was in prison. This could wipe this planet in two hours. In the blink of an eye, you earthlings will be dead.” Zyre explained.

“You will wipe out the human race because of us? This is wrong. Zyre, you must stop.” John stepped forward.

“And go back to prison? Oh I don’t think so.” Zyre shook her head. She aimed the gun at them, “Now, you will all die.”

Zyre shot her gun but John ducked. He grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand as Clyde and Rani followed and they climbed through the rubble. Zyre continued shooting at them but they managed to get out. They ran further down the industrial estate as they ran into another warehouse. They managed to find a closed off part as they panted. John paced, his hands on his hips. Sarah Jane locked the door with her sonic lipstick whilst Clyde and Rani sat on a large table.

“You alright?” Clyde asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Rani nodded, “You?”

“Yeah.” Clyde replied. He turned to watch John pacing and he could tell he was stressed. He looked back to Rani as he whispered, “He’s going to explode.”

“He’ll do something. He’ll know what to do.” Rani replied.

“I don’t know. We’re in the firing line if she lets off that gas. I’m not sure if we can stop this.” Clyde said.

Rani said nothing as she looked into his eyes for a moment. She swallowed as she took his hand. Clyde gave her hand a squeeze. Their heads snapped up when John started to speak.

“We have nothing. Nothing at all.” John said as he ran his fingers through his hair. Sarah Jane turned around to watch him as he paced. She could tell he was angry. He kicked a large metal bucket hard as it fell over, “We have nothing!”

“John!” Sarah Jane stepped forward, “We can defeat this. We just need to find a way.”

“What way is that, Sarah Jane? She’s probably emitting that gas right now and we’ll be dead straight away!” John walked up to her as he pointed. Sarah Jane backed up a little as he approached her. Her heart thudded. She had not seen John or the Doctor like this in a long time. At least not since the Chelloth, “We have nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

John walked away from her and Sarah Jane swallowed the lump in her throat. She avoided the gazes of Clyde and Rani as she stood up straight from the wall she was against. John kicked a rock at his feet as he put his hands in his pockets. Sarah Jane’s breathing was shaky, now becoming angrier.

“We have got one thing.” Sarah Jane said as she bit her lip.

John spun around as he looked at her as he took his hands out of his pockets. He recognised the anger and hurt in her eyes and he knew he shouldn’t have been so harsh. If these were their final moments, he had ruined it and broke her heart. Trust him.

“What?” John asked softly.

“Our daughter.” She stood forward, her teeth slightly gritted, “Rani?”

“Yeah?” Rani looked up at her.

“Call Sky.” Sarah Jane took the lid of her sonic lipstick and threw it to the ground, “Tell her to get in touch with the Judoon.”

Rani nodded as they watched Sarah Jane unlock the warehouse door and storm out. Rani took out her phone from her pocket as John watched Sarah Jane leave. He picked up the lid of her sonic lipstick, studying the ridged detail on the gold cap.

“You should go after her.” Clyde said which made John turn, “She needs her Doctor.”

Sarah Jane stomped as she walked to the other warehouse. She was a little breathless, trying so hard not to cry. She was so angry with John. Absolutely seething. He had been so rude to her and she didn’t understand why. She knew why he was so upset. She felt the same. They felt hopeless but there was always something. There was always something.

“Sarah?” John jogged after her, “Sarah?”

Sarah Jane shook her head as her pace picked up. She wasn’t going to turn around yet.

“Sarah Jane, please.” John wasn’t far behind her, “I’m sorry. I am. Please, don’t do this.”

“Go away.” She shouted back, “Go wallow somewhere else. I’m actually doing something to save this planet.”

“Then let me help you. I didn’t mean what I said.” John tried.

“Really?” She snapped around, “Because it sounded like you did.”

“I didn’t. I felt helpless. I saw no way out.” John walked after Sarah Jane when she started walking again.

“See, that’s your problem, John. Since you became human, you seem to be always stuck in the four walls you’re in. You don’t think outside the box like you used to.” Sarah Jane shouted. She shook her head at what ‘the box’ made her think of. Always back to him, “That bloody blue box!”

“One minute you want me to be human, the next you want me to be him.” John said, “I’m not him. I’ve not been him for a long time.”

“I don’t want you to be him. I want you to think. I want you to think about the world you’re in and everything in it. Not just the one place you’re in, the whole planet.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Zyre is dangerous. How do we go up against her? Look what she did to you last time. Look what she’s doing now.” John started to catch up with her.

“You didn’t even think of our children,” Sarah Jane stopped as she looked up at him. John stopped with her as he studied her face. He noticed how her eyes bubbled with tears and her chin trembled, “You didn’t think of them when you left, you’re not thinking of them now.”

“I think about them non-stop. I think about you non-stop.”

“Not when the world is in peril. You forgot them. You forgot me. You forgot yourself.”

“Then help me. Help me not forget.”

“I’ve tried. I never stop trying but it clearly hasn’t worked. You forgot a long time ago.”

John didn’t know what to say as Sarah Jane turned and continued walking. His heart was beating so hard in his chest, he thought he was going to collapse. He felt like he was losing her, losing his family. His everything. He bowed his head. He didn’t know what else to do.

“The way you spoke to me,” Sarah Jane stopped walking. She spun around to look at him. There was a fair amount of distance between them, “You’ve not spoken to me like that in a long time. In fact, I don’t think you’ve ever spoken to me like that.” She laughed as she shook her head, “I am your wife. You’re meant to have my back. What you did, what you said.” A tear rolled down her cheek but she kept composed, holding onto anymore that were bursting to pour out, “You were against me.”

“Sarah, I…” He stepped forward.

“Don’t.” She held her hand up as she shook her head, “What will it do? It’s done.”

“No, no. Sarah Jane, don’t say that.” John shook his head, “It’s not done. None of it. We’re a team. The best team in the world. In the universe. We can fight this. We can. You and me, as it should be.”

Sarah Jane studied his face. John let his tears flow freely, though his voice never broke. He looked like a broken man. The broken man she found on her doorstep. The broken man that left her behind on the Mall. She loved him then and she loved him now. It hurt but she did. She knew that he couldn’t be fixed but he could get better. That was the mistake she had been making all this time. She had to make him better, not fix him. That was something he had to do for himself. When he spoke, Sarah Jane wasn’t sure if John meant Zyre or if they meant their relationship. It was clear some cracks were beginning to show in their marriage. They loved each other so much but it was clear their bickering had grown worse. They always had been bad for bickering but that was nothing compared to this. Sarah Jane looked down at her feet as the cold breeze hit her wet cheeks.

“How?” Sarah Jane finally asked as she looked at him.

John slowly walked towards her. Sarah Jane watched every movement. John took her hand as he placed something in it. She looked back down as she noticed the lid of her sonic lipstick. It was a small gesture but the fact he remembered it meant a lot. She finally looked at him.

“We work together. Through it all.” John explained, “I need you, you need me. Your Doctor.”

“I don’t need the Doctor. I need you.” Sarah Jane’s hand slowly rested on his chest where his heart was. She felt his singular heartbeat against her palm and it soothed her, “I need my husband. My John. My very human, alive husband called John.”

The two couldn’t help but chuckle. They looked at each other as they took in each other’s features. Reality seemed to seep in again and it wasn’t just them in that moment.

“She’s waiting for us, isn’t she? We would have been dead if she wasn’t.” John said.

“That’s why I said ‘alive’.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Though I could throttle you sometimes.”

The two laughed again. Sarah Jane could feel her eyes stinging again.

“We have to stop arguing like this.”

“The honeymoon doesn’t last forever, Sarah.”

“No but… we will, won’t we?”

“Until the end of time. If you’ll have me.”

“Seems a bit long.” Sarah Jane shrugged sarcastically.

“I knew you would have commitment issues.” John nodded.

Sarah Jane pushed him playfully. He laughed as he took the hand that pushed him in his. He studied it for a moment, looking at the little details on her skin and admiring her rings.

“Can I ask you something?” John asked as he still looked at her hand.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“Why didn’t you call Sky? You could have when you came out here.” John asked. He now looked at her as he wore a little frown.

“Well,” Sarah Jane chewed the inside of her mouth, “I think I’m a little scared to talk to her. You know, queen of grumpy and all that. Rani would probably get through to her better.”

“Like mother, like daughter.” John laughed.

“Cheek!” Sarah Jane giggled as she went to take her hand back but John kept a hold of it.

Sarah Jane watched as he kissed the back of her hand softly. His thumb stroked her skin softly, his lips gentle against her hand. John looked at her when he took her hand away from his lips. Sarah Jane smiled.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble from above. They looked up and noticed a large ship beginning to land. The couple moved closer to one another.

“That’s the Judoon.” Sarah Jane said.

“We need to get to that ship.” John squeezed her hand, “Come on.”

And with that, they sprinted to the warehouse. The Judoon ship landed behind them as they ran.

\- - - 

“Hello?” Sky answered the phone with a sigh.

“Sky! Listen to me, you need to get Mr. Smith to get a hold of the Judoon.” Rani explained.

“What?” Sky asked as she spun in her chair, “The rhinoceros police?”

“Yes, the rhinoceros police. Remember Zyre from the camping trip? She’s back.” Rani said as she looked around the large warehouse they were in still. Clyde paced near the door as he listened to Rani talk on speaker phone with Sky, “She escaped and is planning to release this gas that will kill everything.”

“Where’s mum and dad? She hasn’t hurt them, has she?” Sky sat up. Her heart was now pounding. She felt bad about earlier with her mum and wished she could say sorry but this wasn’t the best time.

“They’re fine. They’re on their way to stop the gas I think.” Rani replied.

“Oh, they’re having a domestic again.” Clyde said as he looked out the door.

“Oh dear.” Rani rubbed her forehead.

“Why are they arguing?” Sky asked.

“They’ll probably tell you later. Look, can you put Mr. Smith on?” Rani said.

Sky got up as she ran down the steps.

“Mr. Smith, I need you.” Sky said.

Mr. Smith unfolded from the wall, his usual fanfare playing. Sky panted a little as she sat on the steps. She had never done this sort of thing before and being alone, she didn’t like it.

“What can I do for you, Sky?” Mr. Smith asked in his soothing but monotone voice.

“I need you to contact the Judoon. That Zyre woman escaped. She’s planning to gas the Earth.” Sky explained.

“Contacting the Shadow Proclamation will take a very long time. How long do we have until the Vokax life form releases the gas?” Mr. Smith asked.

“‘Two hours’ she said. ‘Two hours and everyone will be dead’.” Rani said down the phone.

“Calling the Shadow Proclamation.” Mr. Smith announced.

“I thought you said it was going to take a long time?” Sky asked.

“I forgot that John had put the Shadow Proclamation on speed dial.” Mr. Smith replied.

“How does a super alien computer forget he’s got speed dial?” Clyde asked as he sat down with Rani.

“Shh!” Rani hushed him.

Suddenly, a Judoon voice played through Mr. Smith’s speakers. But they didn’t speak English. Sky listened to the voice but couldn’t pick up anything. She had no idea what to say and if they would even understand her. 

“I don’t know what to say.” Sky started to panic.

“Just tell them what’s happening. They’ll translate it.” Clyde said, “Trust us, Sky. You’ll be alright.”

Sky took in a deep breath as she put her phone on one of Mr. Smith’s folded out walls. She stood in front of Mr. Smith, thinking of things to say.

“My name is Sky Smith, I’m the daughter of Sarah Jane Smith, I think you know her. I know you have an escaped prisoner, the Vokax. Her name is Zyre. She’s very dangerous and she almost killed my mother last time. She’s now planning her revenge and is going to release a gas which will kill the Earth’s population in two hours.” Sky said.

Suddenly, the call ended. Sky studied Mr. Smith’s screen. Had she done it? Did they even listen? Her stomach was turning to knots.

“I think they hung up.” Sky said softly.

“They hung up?” Clyde asked.

“Yeah. I explained what happened and then the call ended.” Sky replied, “I’m sorry.”

“No, Sky, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.” Rani reassured her.

“What do we do?” Sky asked as she picked up the phone and sat on the steps.

“I don’t know.” Clyde said, “Maybe we wait.”

Sky heard a sudden rumble down the phone. She frowned. Clyde got up from where he and Rani sat as he looked out the door.

“That’s them! Rani, that’s them!” Clyde exclaimed.

“Sky, you’re the best! You too, Mr. Smith!” Rani said down the phone.

\- - -

Sarah Jane and John ran into the warehouse hand in hand. They climbed through the rubble, John helping Sarah Jane down from a piece of metal. As he brought her down to the ground, they turned and were met with Zyre. They kept close as she smiled menacingly at them.

“Nice to see you could join me. I thought you would never come.” Zyre shook her head.

“Well, we got caught up.” John shrugged, “You know how things are.”

Zyre moved closer to them. John moved Sarah Jane behind him as he still held her hand. Zyre still wore her menacing smile until she was face to face with them. Her smile then dropped and she had a very angry look on her face. 

“I know the Judoon are here.” Zyre said through gritted teeth, “That’s why I waited. I wanted you two dead first.”

“Why don’t you kill us now?” Sarah Jane stepped out from behind John. She stood in front of him, “You could shoot us right now. Do it.”

“I’d rather see you go painfully than quickly. All of you.” Zyre growled. She stepped away from the couple as she walked over to the ship and activated the gas. A soft hissing sound left the ship as Zyre approached them once more, “Now, I’m going to kill the Judoon. Goodbye.”

Zyre climbed out of the rubble and disappeared from the warehouse. Sarah Jane and John looked back to the ship as they rushed over to it. John scanned the gas with his sonic screwdriver as Sarah Jane looked for a control pad. They both covered up their nose and mouths with their coats but still coughed.

“This could kill us in a few minutes, we need to be quick.” John said, “Can you find anything?”

“No. Where she turned it on, I think it’s one way.” Sarah Jane looked at him.

“How great.” John rolled his eyes.

John sonicked the control pad that Zyre had activated the gas with. He took off the pad and started sonicking certain wires.

“Sarah,” John said, a little breathlessly, “You do those wires.”

Sarah Jane just nodded as she grabbed the other wires. The gas was starting to affect them already both becoming very breathless. John looked up at her, noticing she had become quite pale. He cupped her face which made her look at him.

“Are you alright?” John asked softly.

“I’m… tired.” Sarah Jane replied.

“We can do this… we’re almost there.” John encouraged her.

“What if it doesn’t work?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Then… we destroy it.” John replied.

Sarah Jane simply nodded. They continued to sonic all the wires and stood back when they were done. It was clear it wasn’t working so they had no choice but to destroy it. They both had their sonic devices, ready to destroy the machine. The gas continued to seep through and they felt themselves become weaker and weaker. They activated their sonic devices before the machine started to spark.

“We need to go.” John took Sarah Jane’s hand.

They ran and climbed through the rubble tiredly. They got to the warehouse door, running further down the industrial estate as the fresh air hit them. The clean air reaching their lungs seemed to bring them back to life and they felt revived. The warehouse finally exploded. Sarah Jane and John stopped running as they slightly ducked to avoid any rubble hitting them. Sarah Jane went to cover her ears to protect them from the bang. Footsteps approached as they turned to see Clyde and Rani running up to them with a couple of Judoon officers, one Sarah Jane recognised as Captain Tybo.

“Sarah Jane!” Rani said as she and Clyde ran towards their mentor.

“Oh.” Sarah Jane laughed. She ran up to the two, taking them into a group hug.

Captain Tybo spoke in his native language as he approached John. They assumed that he would translate his voice into English but John started speaking in the same language. The three watched on in shock as he spoke. The Judoon soldiers then walked away as John smiled at them.

“They said they’re taking her to the highest security prison.” John gestured to them, “Apparently she practically ran into their arms. She didn’t put up much of a fight. All talk and no trousers.” John laughed. He then noticed their confused looks, “What is it?”

“You speak Judoon?” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“I speak every language.” John smirked before smoothing down his jacket lapels.

Sarah Jane giggled. The Judoon ship started to take off. They all turned to watch the ship go. John slipped his hand into Sarah Jane’s which made her look at him. 

“How are you feeling?” John asked.

“Better. Are you alright?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah.” John nodded. He then sighed softly, “I am sorry about earlier. The way I acted…”

“Shh.” She hushed him, her finger over his mouth, “It’s okay. I know you’re sorry. You don’t need to apologise more.”

“You’re too good for me.” John smiled.

“I think we’re good for each other.” Sarah Jane replied.

John rested his hand on the base of her neck, his fingers running through her hair as his lips came onto hers. Sarah Jane held his waist as the two kissed. Their worries seemed to fade away in that moment and though things weren’t as ‘lovey dovey’ as they had been, they were so thankful for each other and were thankful to be alive. Their kiss grew more passionate. The two were beginning to slightly forget where they were.

Clyde and Rani turned around as they laughed about some joke when they noticed John and Sarah Jane kissing. They expected them to stop when they turned but they continued.

“Right, that’s enough now.” Clyde said softly.

“Shh, Clyde.” Rani hit his stomach gently, “They’re making up.”

“Well, they can make up later, I don’t want to watch them kiss.” Clyde crossed his arms, “They look like they’re eating each other’s face!”

“You don’t have to watch.” Rani smiled. She cupped his face as she kissed his lips for a couple of seconds. She then took his hand, “Right, let’s go!”

Sarah Jane and John broke off their kiss. They smiled at one another before watching Clyde and Rani walk to the car, a breeze hitting them gently. John made Sarah Jane look back at him once more as they studied each other’s features.

“You do know I love you, right?” John asked.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I love you too.”

John smiled. He kissed her again for a second or so. The two then headed to the car, his arm wrapped around her.


	4. Like Mother, Like Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane and Sky set out their differences and their similarities.

Sky sat on the couch when she heard the front door open downstairs. She stood slowly, not sure if it was the best time to go down. She could hear the voices downstairs but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Sky finally built up the courage to leave the attic. She went down the steps quietly until she reached the last flight of stairs. Her parents stood at the bottom talking as they took off their coats and shoes. John turned when he saw Sky as he grinned.

“Oh, Sky, well done!” He grinned. Sky smiled as she walked down the steps to let her father hug her. He lifted her from the ground as he hugged her tightly before putting her back on the step, “You did such a good job!”

“I only did what Clyde and Rani told me to.” Sky explained, “It was weird. They said nothing to me. I just had to explain what was happening and they arrived.”

“The Judoon have strange views on humans. The fact they showed up at all because of you was amazing. God knows what could have happened if they hadn’t.” John replied. He held her head as he kissed her forehead, “Well done.”

Sky smiled softly but she then frowned when playing with her fingers.

“Where’s Clyde and Rani?” She asked.

“Gone to Carla’s. All they talked about on the way back was that they were having ‘spag bol’ for dinner.” John rolled his eyes before laughing, “It’s not like they took on some aliens today. I’m going to make some tea, my throat is as dry as Androzani Minor!”

John headed into the kitchen, leaving Sarah Jane and Sky in the hall. Sarah Jane had watched her husband and daughter talk and it made her heart warm as she watched them, especially after today. Sarah Jane didn’t know what to say to Sky. She was worried she was still in a bad mood and that it was her fault. Sky looked up slowly at her mum. She could tell Sarah Jane was feeling as awkward as she was herself. Sky chewed the inside of her mouth as Sarah Jane played with her fingers.

“Sky, I…” Sarah Jane began but before she could continue, Sky walked down the steps quickly and almost tackled her. Sky hugged her tightly, her arms wrapped around her waist and her head at her chest. Sarah Jane was surprised that Sky was so quick to hug her but she was happy she did. She stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head, “Thank you. We probably wouldn’t have survived without you today.”

Sarah Jane was aware of a soft sniffle against her chest. She frowned as she looked down to Sky. She gripped her chin as she made her look up to her. Sky’s face tear strained as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Sarah Jane’s brain went on overload as she began to worry about her daughter.

“What’s up?” Sarah Jane asked with a frown.

“I’m sorry.” Sky sniffled.

“Let’s go sit down.” Sarah Jane put her arm around Sky as they headed to the living room. They sat down on the couch as Sarah Jane grabbed the box of tissues. She took some out as she wiped Sky’s face before cupping her face, “What are you sorry for?”

“This morning. I was so rude.” Sky’s eyes bubbled.

“You were busy. I should have left you to do your homework. I’m the one who should be sorry.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“No, it’s not that.” Sky shook her head, “I wasn’t doing my homework. I had finished. That was just an excuse.”

“Sky, if something’s happened, you need to tell me, okay? Whatever it is, you can tell me anything.” Sarah Jane rubbed Sky’s shoulder, “Even if it was that you didn’t want to come today, that’s okay. You don’t need to apologise. I understand how tiring it can be.”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to come. I… I was too scared to.” Sky turned from how she was angled towards Sarah Jane. She sat back on the couch, “I’m such a wimp.”

“You are not a wimp, Sky. You are the bravest girl I have ever met.” Sarah Jane cupped her face. Sky looked at her with big puppy dog eyes and her heart broke for her. Sarah Jane could see the fear she felt and it was the first time she really saw it like that, “Why were you scared? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but it might help.”

Sky sighed softly. She itched her face as she sat up.

“I had a nightmare.” Sky said softly. She didn’t want Sarah Jane to think she was being childish.

“A nightmare?” Sarah Jane asked. Sarah Jane had her fair share of horrific nightmares about the creatures she had met. Luke could not dream so she never worried about it. It never even occurred to her that it could have affected Sky. Sky nodded, “What about?”

“I think it was the Chelloth at first but it seemed to all mesh into one. I just remember being so scared and I was on my own and I didn’t want that to happen today.” Sky explained, “At least if I was at home, I had Mr. Smith. I didn’t want to end up losing you. I just couldn’t face any aliens today. I just wanted to have a day where it was normal for once.”

“Oh, Sky.” Sarah Jane said softly. She felt so guilty. It really never came to her mind that Sky, or any of the kids could become so affected by everything they had seen. She knew how scary it was having those nightmares and memories. She never wanted to put that on them, “This is my fault.”

“How come?” Sky looked up with a frown.

“Because I brought you into all of this. You wouldn’t be having nightmares like this if I didn’t.” Sarah Jane explained.

“It was my choice to stay here, mum. Besides, I was left here. More my fault than yours.” Sky shrugged.

Sarah Jane could not help but chuckle. She cupped Sky’s face as she took the tissue from Sky’s hand, wiping her face once more. Sky smiled a sad smile as she looked at her.

“I should have come today.” Sky said as she took a deep breath.

“No.” Sarah Jane shook her head. In some ways, she was happy that Sky didn’t come for a few reasons. She didn’t want to fuel anymore of her nightmares and she also was able to get in touch with Judoon easily. There was also the issue of the argument Sarah Jane had with John. She didn’t want Sky to have witnessed that, especially in the circumstances they were in. Maybe it might have played out different if Sky had been there but Sarah Jane doubted it, “You were better here. It was safer. And you helped us with the Judoon, you saved the day without even being there.” Sky smiled another sad smile, “You know,” Sarah Jane began as she kept her close, “I have nightmares too.”

“You do?” Sky asked.

“Of course.”

“What about?”

“Well, all of the things I’ve seen. Mostly what I saw with the Doctor. Daleks, the Cybermen, Sontarans. My biggest fears.”

“Do they get better?”

“Most of them do. Some of the reoccurring ones are still as scary as the first time I had them. But I’ve learned to live with them and not all of my dreams are bad. I sometimes have amazing dreams about the things I’ve seen. And look what I got out of having those experiences,” Sarah Jane cupped her face, “I got you and Luke, your father, Clyde, Rani and Maria. So many good things came out of those horrible experiences. Those nightmares, you make them better.”

Sky nodded. Sarah Jane kissed the side of her head before stroking her hair. Sky looked at her once more.

“Clyde said you and dad were arguing.” Sky said softly, “Why?”

“Oh, it was nothing.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about this now, especially with Sky.

“Was it because of me?” Sky asked. She was worried she had caused a strain between her parents. She thought that maybe they were annoyed she hadn’t come and they were just covering it up.

“No! No, no.” Sarah Jane giggled, shaking her head, “Not at all.” She paused for a moment as she looked around the room before back at Sky, “Your father and I… we had a disagreement. Dad didn’t think we had anything left. Nothing to help us. I think he was so worried that he struggled to find a way to stop Zyre. That worry turned into anger and he took it out on us. It wasn’t his fault, it was in the heat of the moment and we got angry.” Sarah Jane could see the change in Sky’s face, “But it’s okay, we’re okay. You don’t need to worry. You know what these times are like. It’s scary and strange and totally bonkers.”

“You’re definitely okay now?” Sky asked. Her parents did not always argue but they did argue. Sky hated it, as any child would. It worried her so much. It worried her more than anything.

“Definitely okay. And you have nothing to worry about.” Sarah Jane cupped her face, “We’re all okay. You know what your dad’s like, he does get a bit carried away.”

Sky laughed. She then wrapped her arms around Sarah Jane’s waist. Sarah Jane chuckled as she sat back on the couch. She held Sky tightly as she kissed her head. She patted her back gently like a mother with her baby, resting her cheek against Sky’s head. 

“Right,” John came through with a tray of tea, “I’ve got tea and I’ve got shortbread and dark chocolate digestives and… Oh.” John stopped when he noticed Sarah Jane and Sky on the couch. They looked up to him as he made a slight strained expression, “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“No.” Sarah Jane giggled.

Sarah Jane and Sky sat up as John handed them their cups of tea. John then joined them on the couch, the three taking sips of their tea and silence fell over them like a warm blanket for a moment.

“That’s the best tea you’ve made me yet, John.” Sarah Jane said finally.

“Getting better at being a husband then?” John raised his brow.

“Hmm.” Sarah Jane hummed as she raised a brow.

“Oh shh.” John rolled his eyes.

Sky laughed at the two. She enjoyed the banter they would have and still thought it was so nice to see her mum like this. Sky was so grateful for the two and how close they all were. Sky did think of them sort of as ‘The Three Musketeers’. Sarah Jane sat forward as she grabbed the remote control and turned the television on. John smiled to Sky as he wrapped his arm around her, kissing her head. Sarah Jane sat back as she looked over at the two. She took a sip of her tea as John made eye contact with her, winking to her with a little smile. Sarah Jane took John’s hand that was wrapped around Sky as she kissed the back of it. She then cuddled into Sky as the three watched the television. All grateful, all happy.


	5. The Stolen Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane receives the call she never wanted.

Sarah Jane sighed in her sleep softly as she rolled over. Her arm draped over John’s stomach as his hand lay over hers. They cuddled in as they still slept. The sun was starting to rise and peaked through the cracks in the curtains but didn’t wake them. That was until Sarah Jane’s phone started to ring.

Sarah Jane opened her eyes slowly. She felt groggy and being awoken like this was what she wanted on a Saturday morning. She rolled over as she turned on her lamp. She then picked up her phone as she looked at the time and caller ID. Five in the morning. Great.

“Who is it?” John asked, clearly still asleep.

“Sanjay.” Sarah Jane replied before answering the phone, “Hello?”

“Sarah Jane? It’s Luke. He’s gone.” Sanjay said.

Sarah Jane was on full alert. She sat up straight away. This was something she really did not want to hear.

“Gone? What do you mean ‘gone’?” Sarah Jane asked. Her heart felt like it was going to pop out of her chest, it was beating so fast. John could see the concern on her face and he sat up too. He had no idea what was going on.

“He’s just gone. I woke up to go to the toilet and he wasn’t in bed.” Sanjay explained. It was clear he was worried as he spoke frantically, “I’ve looked around everywhere in the flat. I even walked through the corridors and went outside. And I texted and called him, maybe thinking he went for a walk and he’s left his phone. I can’t find him anywhere. I don’t know what to do.”

“We’ll be right over.” Sarah Jane said.

“What’s going on?” John asked.

“It’s Luke.” She said as she got out of the bed. She grabbed the closest pair of jeans she could find as she kicked off her pyjama bottoms and pulled them over her legs, “He’s gone.”

“Gone?” John asked as he got up.

“Sanjay said he woke up and he had disappeared.” Sarah Jane explained. She spoke quickly and it was clear she was panicking. She went into her drawers as she looked for a bra, “He’s looked everywhere and he’s nowhere to be seen.”

“But he can’t have vanished into thin air. There has to be a reason.” John shrugged as he stood at the foot of the bed.

“I can’t think of any. Luke isn’t the sort of boy that would go on walks so early. If he did, he would have told Sanjay. He’s sensible. He wouldn’t just disappear.” Sarah Jane replied, her nerves getting more and more apparent. Finally, she took a sharp breath as she stopped looking through the drawers.

John watched her head bow down. He could see her reflection in the mirror, her eyes closing as she began to sob silently. John rushed to Sarah Jane as he brought her in his arms.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” He reassured her. John was just as worried as Sarah Jane was but he wanted to be there for her. He needed to be there for her and be strong. He held her tightly as she cried into his chest. He kissed her head as tears threatened his eyes, “We’ll find him. I promise you.”

John broke the embrace as he cupped her face. Sarah Jane’s head was down as she cried, sniffling softly. John wiped the tears off her face as he tried a smile.

“He’ll be alright.” John nodded, “We just need to look for him.”

“I can’t lose him again.” Sarah Jane said, “I can’t.”

“I’m not going to let that happen.” John replied, “Come on, you get dressed. I’ll go get Sky up.”

Sarah Jane nodded. John kissed her forehead before leaving the room. He closed the door behind himself as he stood in the hall for a moment. Reality seemed to fall on him and he pressed his head against the door, the lump in his throat growing.

“This can’t be happening.” John said so quietly that he was surprised he heard himself.

John had soon got Sky up and when the three were all ready, they drove to Luke and Sanjay’s flat. They headed inside as they started looking around for clues. K-9 scanned the area, trundling around the living room.

“Should we call the police?” Sky asked.

“Not yet. This could be aliens. We don’t want to risk it just yet with the police.” John replied as looked through the drawers of the side table in the living room.

“I did think about calling the police but I thought it would be best not to.” Sanjay explained.

“Christ, we sound like the bloody mafia.” Sarah Jane said quietly as she scanned the room with her watch.

John couldn’t help but chuckle but when he looked in the second drawer, his stomach dropped. It was Luke’s sonic pen. He took it out as he looked at it.

“Oh no. He’s left it!” John said.

“What?” Sanjay asked.

“His sonic pen. He could have used his distress call.” John said as he stood. He then pointed at Sanjay with the sonic device, “You need to be at him to sleep with it. It could save a lot of time.”

“Luke is not going to bed with his bloody sonic pen.” Sarah Jane said.

“I go to bed with my screwdriver.” John shrugged.

“Yes, I know.” Sarah Jane sighed, “I’m going to scan your room.”

“Okay.” Sanjay nodded.

Sarah Jane walked into Luke and Sanjay’s room and she was hit with the faint scent of Luke’s aftershave. She sighed softly, trying her best to compose herself. The beeping from her watch seemed to grow louder but she didn’t question it too much. Luke probably had some alien technology in here and that could set off the watch. Sarah Jane walked slowly towards the unmade bed, the beeping growing louder. Sarah Jane frowned a little. She noticed the family photos on the side of the bed and knew she was standing on Luke’s side. As she stood next to the bed, her watch was beeping like crazy. There was something there.

“John! John!” Sarah Jane called. Her heart bounding.

John quickly ran into the room. Sky and Sanjay followed, watching from the doorway.

“Look.” She showed her husband the watch.

John scanned Luke’s side with his sonic screwdriver before looking at the readings. His face dropped.

“K-9!” John called. The robot dog came into the room as Sky and Sanjay moved aside, “Scan the bed.”

“Scanning, master.” K-9 announced. His ears moved as scanned. They then stopped before he started speaking again, “Radiation detected.”

“You’ve got it too? Teleportation energy.” John said, “Something’s taken him.”

The four drove back to Bannerman Road. John talked with Mr. Smith, trying to find where the teleportation energy had come from with K-9. Sky had called Clyde and Rani and they had arrived. They all sat in the attic with Sky as they watched John. Sarah Jane paced as she tried to calm herself. Sanjay sat on the steps, biting his thumbnail.

“This energy leads to these coordinates.” Mr. Smith said as he showed the coordinates on the screen.

“Where are they from?” Rani asked as she frowned.

“That’s space.” John said. He somehow recognised it from the TARDIS, “In orbit. Mr. Smith, can you locate any ships in orbit around the Earth?”

“I cannot identify any spaceships in orbit.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Could they be using a bio-damper?” Clyde asked.

“They could be.” John shrugged, “Something has definitely taken Luke. There’s no doubt about that.”

“What do we do?” Sarah Jane asked as she walked over to them. They all turned when she walked over except as he tried to think. 

“We should call Kate.” John looked at her finally.

“What?” Sarah Jane frowned, “Why are we calling Kate? We are not getting UNIT involved. Not with Luke.”

“We’re not going to. Not fully.” John walked over to Sarah Jane as he explained his plan, “If we talk to her, I think she could help us get there in a way that’s safe.”

“What do you mean?” Sarah Jane asked.

“If she can help us, I think we can get up to wherever he is. We don’t know if they are on a ship or not so we need to be prepared for wherever we end up.” John said.

“Okay.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I’ll call her.”

“I can do it.” John said. It was a small gesture but Sarah Jane appreciated that he offered. She wasn’t sure if she could face calling Kate right now.

Sarah Jane nodded. She took out her phone from her pocket as she handed it to him. John smiled at her before going off to the side. John called Kate and explained the situation. Kate was able to find a way to keep it on the lowdown.

They all travelled to the UNIT base at Mount Snowden. Kate greeted them and explained their plans as she walked them through the base. She explained that they were going to be sent to where the coordinates led them with a few soldiers. They were going to be given space suits in case. Kate lead them into a large control room where the teleportation device was.

“This is it.” Kate showed them, “Sarah Jane and John, I can take you to some changing rooms and we’ll give you your suits.”

Sarah Jane and John nodded. They had agreed that Sarah Jane and John should be the ones to go after Luke. As they went to follow Kate, Sanjay grabbed Sarah Jane’s arm.

“Can I come too?” Sanjay asked, “I’ve changed my mind. I want to help.”

Sarah Jane turned to Kate who heard him ask. Kate smiled as she nodded.

“We have plenty of space suits. It’s no problem.” Kate said.

Sarah Jane smiled a small smile to Sanjay as they followed after Kate. Sarah Jane, John and Sanjay changed into their black space suits which had a helmet that could fold back into the suit. The space suits were special UNIT officers suits and the four officers going up with them wore them too. There were cameras on the suits so the others could watch what was happening. When they were ready, they all headed to stand in the teleportation device.

“You alright?” John asked Sarah Jane quietly.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded as she took a deep breath.

“Hey,” John took her hand, giving it a squeeze, “We’re gonna find him. We are.”

Sarah Jane nodded again, a little smile on her lips. Sarah Jane looked over to Sanjay as he was looking around himself.

“You okay?” Sarah Jane asked.

“It still freaks me out.” Sanjay couldn’t help but laugh.

“Me too.” Sarah Jane whispered, “By the way, be careful. You might get a little space sick when we get there.”

Sanjay just nodded though he did look a little scared.

“Right, is everyone ready?” Kate asked through the microphone. Kate, Rani, Clyde and Sky with some other officers stood behind the glass.

“Yes, ma’am.” An officer said.

“Right, good luck.” Kate nodded, “And keep in touch.”

Kate then pressed the button to activate the teleportation device. Lights started to flash as they all looked around. Slowly, their surroundings started to change and then finally, they found themselves in a dark corridor. They faced a large door, a control pad at the side. 

“Are you all alright?” Kate asked. They all had ear pieces that connected them back home. It was dark on the screen and not totally clear.

“Yes, ma’am.” One officer said, “I think we’ve reached the ship.”

“I’m going to scan the area. See if we can take off our visors.” John said as he took out his sonic screwdriver. He scanned the area as Sarah Jane turned slowly. Her jaw dropped, “It’s okay to breathe. We can take them off. Sarah?”

“Look.” Sarah Jane said softly.

John turned around as he smiled a little. They slowly walked towards the large window in front of them. The window showed the outside of the ship and space. In front of them was the Earth turning slowly. Everyone took their visors down as they turned around too. 

“It’s been a long time since I've seen it like this.” John said softly.

“Me too.” Sarah Jane smiled as she looked at the Earth.

“Oh my God.” Sanjay studied the planet before him. His heart was beating fast. He was in total disbelief, “It’s beautiful.”

“It is.” Sarah Jane nodded.

They all then turned around to the door. John opened it with his sonic screwdriver as they walked through the dark corridors. There was then another door. John unlocked that one and they then found themselves in what looked like a medicentre. They looked around the room, thinking it was empty, until finally, they spotted him.

Luke lay on a plain bed with tubes connected to his body. He wore his pyjamas and it was clear that he had been taken out of his bed straight away. He was asleep, faint beeping from the heart monitor next to him.

“Luke!” Sarah Jane said as she ran over to him, “Luke!” She cupped his face as she stood next to the bed, trying to wake him up, “He’s not waking up.”

“He’s unconscious.” John scanned Luke with his sonic.

“We need to wake him up.” Sarah Jane said as she looked at the tubes, “Sanjay, do you know what these tubes are connected to?”

“They’re connected to his brain.” A husky voice announced. They all turned to see an incredibly tall white humanoid with four eyes and small horns on his head. He wore dark robes, his hands clasped in front of him. The soldiers held their guns up at him.

“Don’t!” John ran out to them, “Get your guns down.” The soldiers lowered their guns as John looked back to the alien, “Vizon? Right? That’s what you are.”

“You’ve met my kind before?” The Vizon raised his brow.

“Once. In a past life. Sort of in the passing actually.” John shrugged as he looked at the ceiling. He then looked back at the Vizon as his expression changed and became cold, “I didn’t know you stole humans in the dead of the night.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about us.” The Vizon laughed.

“My son is lying unconscious on an alien ship orbiting the Earth, tell me why.” John stepped forward, his teeth gritted.

“Humans are a very smart race.” The Vizon began as he walked slowly around the area, his hands behind his back, “One of the smartest in the solar system. We wanted to find the smartest human of all. For the months, we have monitored this planet and then we found your son. The smartest human on Earth. Maybe in the universe. We knew he could help us.”

“Help you with what?” Sarah Jane asked as she stepped forward from the bed Luke lay on. Sanjay moved closer to Luke when the Vizon turned to look at Sarah Jane.

“To destroy your world.” The Vizon said, “Humans may be smart but they are not that smart. They are pathetic and the planet, it serves no purpose. For that, you all should die.”

“My son would never help you destroy our planet. Not in a million years.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She could feel the rage building within her.

“But you see, he already has. All those wires, we have all the knowledge he has in his mind.” The Vizon said, “We know the exact point to hit the Earth and when that happens,” He laughed, “There will be nothing left.”

“I don’t think so.” Sarah Jane said, grabbing a gun from one of the soldiers and aiming at him, “You let my son go right now or I will kill you.” 

“Sarah, put the gun down.” John tried. His heart was beating hard. Sarah Jane hated violence and this was something she would never do. She would never kill but when it came to her children, he wasn’t so sure.

“Go ahead. Your people will still die.” The Vizon said.

“Sarah.” John warned.

“Do it.” The alien laughed.

“Sarah Jane, put the gun down!” John shouted.

“I have no choice!” Sarah Jane didn’t look at John, the handgun aimed at the Vizon lifeform.

“Yes you do.” John said, “We can stop this. Just put the gun down.”

“How? How do we stop this?” Sarah Jane asked. Her eyes started to sting. She tried to hold it together, “Look at our son. Look at him. They’re draining him. I can’t let that happen.”

“Then put the gun down and we can fix this.” John moved over to Sarah Jane. He stood next to her, his hand over his as he made her lower the gun, “That’s it. Put it down.”

Sarah Jane finally put the gun down, John taking it from her. He slipped it back to the soldier she had taken it from as his attention was still on her. Sarah Jane closed her eyes, trying to not break down.

“Go to him.” John said softly. He then turned to the Vizon who laughed, “Let him go.”

“Very well.” The Vizon said. He walked over to Luke as he pressed buttons on the heart monitor. Suddenly, Luke took a deep breath as his body rose. Sanjay rushed to Luke as he checked him over. The Vizon walked over to John, “Get ready to die.”

John frowned. Suddenly, Vizon soldiers stormed the room. Sanjay, Sarah Jane and Luke stayed close as Luke was starting to wake up. John looked around the room as the UNIT soldiers put their guns up. The Vizon soldiers aimed their guns at them. John slowly moved over to Sarah Jane, his hand moving into her pocket.

“What are you doing?” She whispered.

“Getting us out of here.” He whispered. John pulled out her sonic lipstick from her pocket as he held it to his sonic screwdriver. He activated it as it created a loud sonic disruption, making everyone cover their ears. John didn’t know a lot about the Vizon but he did know their hearing was more sensitive than humans. When he stopped the sound, he grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand as he led her out the room, “Sanjay, stay with Luke.” He then pointed to the soldiers, “Protect them, we’ll be with you shortly.”

“Where are we going?” Sarah Jane asked as she looked back. She didn’t want to leave Sanjay and Luke on their own.

“We’re going to stop this.” John said. He then remembered his camera and mic that connected him back home, “Kate, I’m sure you’re still on, yes?”

“Yes, we are.” Kate replied.

“Well, you’re going to have to excuse us because my wife and I need to save the world?” John said as he pointed his screwdriver at Sarah Jane’s camera and mic before going to his, “Hope you don’t mind.”

Before Kate could respond, John shut off his microphone and camera too. He put his sonic back in his pocket as they walked through the ship. Sarah Jane didn’t want to talk. Her stomach felt tight. So many things were going through her head that she felt sick. They finally reached the control room. There was a large window that showed the Earth with what looked like a large gun pointing to it. The Vizon leader was there at the controls. He turned when he saw the two and started to laugh.

“It’s done.” The Vizon leader cackled, “There is nothing you can do.”

Sarah Jane and John could see the laser from the gun building up. They quickly got out their sonics, knowing it would disable it. They held it towards the large gun as they activated it. There was a large loading bar for the gun on the screens and before Sarah Jane and John had sonicked the gun, it was almost ready to go but it quickly went down and disabled. 

“No! No!” The Vizon leader yelled, “You will pay for this!”

“No, you will. You took our son and you were going to destroy our planet.” John marched over to him, “I suggest you fly home right now.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” The Vizon leader laughed, “I can just bring it back up.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” A similar husky voice said from the hall. They all turned to see another Vizon life form. It was clear he was royalty of some sort from the grand robes he wore. There were two guards surrounding him as they held tall staffs, “You are under arrest.”

“No, no. Please. Your majesty, please.” The Vizon leader bowed down, “Please. I didn’t mean any harm, I just…”

“Take him away.” The Vizon king ordered. Sarah Jane and John watched as the Vizon guards grabbed the now sobbing leader and almost dragged him out of the room. The Vizon king noticed the couple and smiled, “On behalf of the Vizon race and Vizonia, I apologise for the actions of the general. I am King Viron, I assume you won’t have heard of me on Earth, have you?”

“I’m afraid not, your majesty. Earth is still pretending that other lifeforms in space don’t exist.” John laughed, “We’ll definitely give you a mention in the history books when we do though.”

“Please spare my blushes.” King Viron chuckled, “I hope your child is alright. You probably should leave soon. We’re going back to Vizonia. We teleported to the ship too just like you and your troops.”

“Yes.” John nodded as he slipped his hand into Sarah Jane’s, “We are eternally grateful, aren’t we, Sarah?”

“Uh yes. Yes, your majesty. Thank you.” Sarah Jane nodded. She was a little lost for words.

“Go.” King Viron simply chuckled.

John and Sarah Jane smiled at the alien king before leaving the control room.

“He was nice.” John said cheerfully.

“John, I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane blurted out.

“What?” John asked, “What do you mean?”

“For the way I acted.” Sarah Jane stopped walking which made John stop, “I could have killed him.”

“But you didn’t.” John stepped forward, his hands on her shoulders, “You knew it was wrong.”

“I was still willing to do it. If that were you, I would have given you hell for that!”

“Sarah Jane, it was our son. You were protecting him. Any mother would have done the same. You were doing what you thought was best.”

“You should be angry with me.”

“Why? We all make mistakes, we all have flaws. We can’t stop how protective we are over our children. You had good reason to have done it but you didn’t because you knew it was wrong. The fact you knew it was wrong helped you.”

Sarah Jane said nothing as she bowed her head down. She bit her lip, trying to stop her emotions from coming to the surface. John gripped her chin as he lifted her head gently.

“We’ve got him back.” John said, “We don’t need to worry. We did what we thought was best.”

“Sir,” An officer stepped out, “They want us back.”

“Right, we’ll be right there.” John nodded as the officer went back into the room. John took Sarah Jane’s hand, “You alright?”

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I’m tired.”

“Me too.” John kissed her head, “We’ll be home soon.”

The two walked back to the medicentre. The officers stood next to each other as Sanjay and Luke stood in the middle. Luke was just waking up but very weak. Sanjay supported him as he stood.

“Luke?” Sarah Jane said as she rushed over to him.

“Mum?” Luke replied, his voice a little husky.

“Oh, Luke.” Sarah Jane giggled. She went to hug him tightly. He was alright and that made her so happy, “Oh, you’re okay.”

“Is dad here too?” Luke asked.

“I’m right here.” John stepped forward. The two hugged, “We’re going home, alright? Hang in tight.”

Luke simply nodded as he went back to Sanjay. Sarah Jane stood next to him, also supporting him. Their surroundings began to change and soon, they were back home. Everyone was so happy to see Luke and know he was alright. They all headed back to Bannerman Road and Luke decided to go for a sleep. Thankfully, they had not hurt him and only really had access to his knowledge rather than draining it like they had thought. Luke was really tired from the anesthetic he had been given.

Sanjay walked into the dim room slowly. He had brought up a glass of water for Luke. He walked slowly into the room, trying to not wake Luke but he started to stir and rolled over slowly. 

“Sorry.” Sanjay said, “I was just bringing you some water.”

“It’s okay. I was starting to wake up anyway.” Luke sat up. Sanjay handed him the glass of water, “Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Just tired. Where’s mum and dad?”

“In bed too. So’s Sky, they did look shattered when they came back. Clyde and Rani went over to Rani’s mum’s.”

“And how are you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

“You look tired too.”

“I’m okay.” Sanjay laughed.

Luke said nothing as he pulled the covers back so Sanjay could come in. Sanjay sighed. He kicked off his shoes before joining his boyfriend in the bed. Luke put his glass of water at the side before cuddling into Sanjay.

“I was so scared this morning.” Sanjay said quietly, “I didn’t know what happened.”

“I’m sorry.” Luke apologised.

“No. Don’t apologise. It wasn’t your fault.” Sanjay rested his hand on Luke’s stomach gently, “I’m just glad we got you home.”

“Me too. Thank you so much. Who knows what would have happened if you couldn’t.” Luke said.

“I guess it’s good that we have connections, huh?” Sanjay smiled.

“Yeah.” Luke laughed. Luke then cupped Sanjay’s face as he kissed him gently. They then broke off the kiss, smiling at one another in the dim light, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Sanjay smiled. They snuggled into each other again. It was quiet in the room as they thought about their day. Sanjay then started to laugh.

“What?” Luke asked. Sanjay continued to laugh, “What is it?”

“Earlier, Sky said about maybe calling the police but your dad said it was best not to and then your mum went ‘it’s like we’re the bloody mafia’.” Sanjay laughed, “She’s not wrong though. Your mum and dad meant business up there.”

“Well, I guess you don’t mess with the Smiths.”


	6. The Doctor and His Patient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane’s not feeling too well but insists on going to work. Not on John’s watch.

“Right, that’s me off.” Sarah Jane grabbed her bag as she smoothed down her lapels. She walked over to John as she wiped her nose with a tissue, the tip of her nose red from where the makeup had rubbed off. She had a cold and though John had insisted she should take a day off, Sarah Jane said no.

“I really think you should stay off, dear.” John took off his reading glasses as he put his newspaper down.

“I’ll be fine.” Sarah Jane chuckled. She went to lean down to kiss him, “It’s only a…” Sarah Jane’s face scrunched up as she moved away from John. She sneezed loudly as she wiped her nose. She then smiled, “A cold.”

“You are staying home.” John stood as he grabbed her hand.

“John!” Sarah Jane whined as he led her out to the hall. He picked up the landline before handing it to her, “It’s just a cold.”

“It’s the flu!” John widened his eyes, “Call James and tell him you’re not well.”

“You know, this is not how you get to be one of the three most successful journalists in the country.” Sarah Jane took the landline from him before dialling the number.

“The most successful journalists deserve a sick day sometimes, dear.” John smiled.

Sarah Jane shook her head before her boss answered the phone. She explained the situation and she was surprised by how he was okay with it. John didn’t leave the hall until Sarah Jane had finished the call. Sarah Jane put the phone back in the cradle before putting her bag on the chair near the table.

“Happy?” She asked John in her very choked up voice.

“Very happy.” John chuckled. He cupped her head as he kissed the side of her head. John could already tell Sarah Jane was starting to feel sorry for herself, “Why don’t you go upstairs and put your pyjamas on? I’ll make you a cup of tea and you can put your feet up.”

Sarah Jane just nodded tiredly. She then turned to go upstairs, starting to take off her blazer. John chuckled as he watched her going upstairs. He could tell she was already starting to feel more ill and he knew it was best that she stayed off so her cold couldn’t get worse. He then headed into the kitchen as he made tea for the two. He headed into the living room with the tea when Sarah Jane came down. She had taken off her makeup and wore a blue tank top with white pyjama bottoms and a white long cardigan. John smiled when she walked in, handing her her cup of tea.

“How are you feeling?” John asked as she sat down.

“Fine.” Sarah Jane lied as she took a sip of her tea.

John chuckled as he gave her thigh a little squeeze. He then turned on the television as they watched mid morning television. They dunked biscuits into their tea but Sarah Jane huffed as they watched.

“What is it?” John asked.

“I don’t know how people watch this.” Sarah Jane shook her head before eating her digestive, “It’s absolutely dire!”

“You’re starting to sound like the Doctor.” John laughed.

Sarah Jane laughed sarcastically which made John laugh. They sat for a few more minutes before the show finished. Sarah Jane coughed a few times and it was clear that she was now feeling more ill.

“Would you like some soup?” John asked.

“Oh, that would be lovely.” Sarah Jane turned to him, “What flavours do we have?”

“Tomato?” He raised a brow with a smirk.

Sarah Jane’s face seemed to light up. She remembered that the first thing John ate when he came back to this universe. She could tell he remembered too. His smile grew as hers did. Finally, she nodded.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Tomato would be great.”

John smiled at her as he got up. He kissed her head before taking through their empty mugs and the packet of biscuits left on the table. He headed into the kitchen, putting the mugs in the sink and the biscuits away. He grabbed the tin of Heinz tomato soup as he poured it into the pot and started to heat it up. As he waited for the soup to cook, John decided to put some toast on for Sarah Jane with her soup. When he finished putting the toast into the toaster, his phone started to ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi dad!” Sky beamed down the phone, “I just wanted to call and let you know that me and Jade are heading into town instead of staying in at hers. Don’t worry though, I’ve got money with me. I just wanted to let you know if you wondered where I was.”

“Nah, that’s alright.” John replied, “I don’t think we’ll be going out or anything anyway because your mum’s not gone to work today so you won’t need your key or anything.”

“Mum didn’t go to work?” Sky’s eyes widened as she walked.

“Nope.” John chuckled, “I was surprised I managed to convince her to stay off too.”

“She didn’t look too great this morning. Don’t tell her I said that.”

“I won’t. She won’t admit it but I know she knows it’s best, she’s got more tired through the day.”

“Yeah, she’s best to get some rest. And it’s good you’re there to look after her.”

“Well, I am the best.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sky rolled her eyes as she laughed, “I’ll better go. See you when I get home and give mum a cuddle for me.”

“Okay, see you when you get home. Have fun.” John smiled.

“I will. Bye!”

“Bye!”

John dished up Sarah Jane’s soup and toast. He brought it through on a tray for her with a tall glass of water. Sarah Jane sat up when he came in and gave it to her.

“Thank you.” She said softly.

“You look a little pale.” John pressed the back of his hand against her cheek.

“I’ve got a bit of a headache. I’m going to take a tablet after my lunch.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Okay.” John nodded, “Well, I’m gonna head up to the attic, I need to do some marking.” John was about to walk out of the room when Sarah Jane grabbed his hand, “What? What is it?” He started to laugh as he looked at her sad puppy expression.

“I thought you were staying down here.” She frowned.

“I won’t be long.” John chuckled, “I just need to finish the rest of the marking I have and I’ll be right back down.” He kissed her head, “I promise.”

Sarah Jane smiled a small smile as John headed upstairs. She ate her lunch before sitting for a little while watching the television. Sarah Jane’s headache seemed to get worse and John had not come downstairs yet. She decided to take the dishes through to the kitchen before taking a paracetamol with her water. Sarah Jane then headed upstairs to the attic.

When she walked into the attic, John was sitting on the couch as he read a book. His marking was in front of him and it was clear he had finished because it was all piled up (though not neatly). He wore his reading glasses and had his legs crossed as they rested on the coffee table. When the door creaked open, John turned to see Sarah Jane standing there. She blew her nose before tucking her tissue up her cardigan sleeve.

“I thought you were going to come back down.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“I know but this book caught my eye and before I knew it, I was three chapters in and it was already getting intense.” John replied as she approached, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Sarah Jane smiled. She sat with him, “What book is it?”

“‘Pride and Prejudice’.” John replied as he showed her the cover. Sarah Jane chuckled, “How are you feeling?”

“My head’s still sore.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Come here.” John moved up the couch to make space. He let her rest her head on his lap as he ran his fingers through her hair. Sarah Jane instantly felt soothed and she closed her eyes slowly. John smiled as he looked down at her, “Better?”

“Yes.” Sarah Jane smiled though her eyes were still closed. She rested her hand on his thigh, “Read to me.”

“Alright.” John smiled before beginning to read to his wife. He continued to run his fingers gently through her hair, aware of her beginning to doze off.

\- - -

“Mum?” Sky called as she walked into the house, “Dad?”

There was no answer. Sky put her bags down as she checked the living room and kitchen but they weren’t there. She headed upstairs, knowing they would probably be in the attic. It was worth checking in the bedroom but the door was open and no one was there. Sky then went straight to the attic.

Sky opened the door as she looked to Mr. Smith’s closed-off chimney first before back at the red couch next to her. Sarah Jane and John were fast asleep. Sarah Jane lay on the couch, her head on John’s lap. John sat on the couch with his legs stretched out onto the coffee table in front. His hand was resting on Sarah Jane’s head, his fingers in her hair as they still subconsciously stroked her head. In his other hand was a book he had been reading. It was about to slip out of his hand and Sky was quick to retrieve it from his hand. She closed the book before placing it on the table. John still wore his reading glasses and Sky gently took them off of him too, putting them on top of the book.

Thankfully, neither of her parents seemed to stir and Sky thought it was best to just leave them. They clearly needed a rest and Sky was going to let them have that. She needed to try on her new clothes anyway so she didn’t want to disturb them too much. Sky walked back to the door, smiling as she gave her parents one last look before shutting the door behind her.


	7. The Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Sarah Jane and John’s anniversary and the kids go to do some investigating. What can go wrong?

“John, are you ready?” Sarah Jane called as she fixed her earrings in the mirror, “John!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” John jogged lightly down the steps. He wore a white shirt with a brown blazer and blue jeans, his usual white converses on his feet. He was focusing on the steps when he looked up at Sarah Jane. She wore a pale olive green satin dress with a slight plunging neckline and long cuffed sleeves. The skirt went down to her shins. On her feet, she wore a pair of plain nude stilettos, “You look beautiful. You always make more of an effort than me. I’m gonna look out of place.”

“Shut up.” Sarah Jane giggled as she walked up to him. She put her hands on his shoulders as she brushed some dust off them, “You look so handsome.”

“You’re too good to me.” John chuckled as he adjusted her star necklace before looking at her, “Happy anniversary.”

“Happy anniversary.” Sarah Jane smiled. She leaned in as she kissed him. John rested his hands on her waist, keeping her close. It was John and Sarah Jane’s one year wedding anniversary and they were going out for dinner to celebrate. They heard the car horn from outside, “Oh, that’ll be the cab.”

“Well, we best be going then.” John smiled. He took her hand as Sarah Jane grabbed her bag.

“That’s us off!” Sarah Jane shouted up the stairs.

“Okay, see you later!” Luke called down.

“Love you.” Sky called.

“Have fun!” Clyde, Rani, Sanjay and Maria (who was home for the summer) called down in unison.

“See you later.” Sarah Jane and John both called up before Sarah Jane said, “Love you.”

The couple then chuckled to themselves. John opened the door for Sarah Jane before heading out to the taxi. They were soon on their way to the restaurant.

The kids were upstairs in the attic. They had ordered pizza and talked about different things. Luke and Sky were actually the ones who booked the table for Sarah Jane and John. They wanted to do something for their anniversary and they thought that was perfect. It was also a good excuse to have their friends over. They were currently laughing at a joke Sanjay had made when Mr. Smith detected something.

“I have detected an alien lifeform close by.” Mr. Smith announced.

“You have?” Luke frowned, “Whereabouts?”

“Near Piccadilly Circus.” Mr. Smith replied.

“That’s quite a bit in town.” Maria frowned as she ate a slice of pizza.

“I bet it’s nothing.” Clyde shook his head, “I mean UNIT will probably sort it out. Or Martha and Mickey have heard about them. We don’t need to worry.”

“Do you know what the alien is?” Sky asked.

“Oh no, come on. I thought we were having a night in?” Clyde asked.

“We’ve got to make sure it’s nothing serious.” Luke said as he got up from the couch and walked down to Mr. Smith, “Mum and dad’s restaurant is on Piccadilly Circus too. We might have to let them know.”

“Well, they’ll probably bump into the alien, you know what they’re like.” Clyde sat back on the couch.

“It’s still worth a look though. Just in case.” Sanjay shrugged. He then got up, “Can you identify the alien there?”

“He’s got too involved.” Clyde whispered to Rani.

“Shh.” Rani hushed him as she sat forward.

“I have identified the alien as a Turcid lifeform.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Turcid?” Maria frowned.

“They are from the planet Scun. They are known to be a very peaceful race though they are known for being troublesome through adolescence.” Mr. Smith explained as he showed a diagram of the alien. The diagram was quite similar to Androvax but appeared to be shorter than the very tall stature Androvax had, “They have harsh climates and have certain abilities to adapt to that wherever they live on their planet but through adolescence, these abilities begin to develop and they experience a wide range of these. They can shapeshift, become invisible, have super strength, teleport and, very rarely, fly.”

“They’re very Androvaxy.” Rani pointed out.

“Scun was located near the planet where the Veil originated from. This certain part of the galaxy are all reptilian lifeforms.” Mr. Smith explained, “I’m detecting that this particular lifeform I have detected appears to be an adolescent.”

“Let’s go.” Luke went up the steps to grab his coat.

“Oh, what?” Clyde sat forward, “I thought we were having a chill night?”

“We need to go find them. We don’t know what they are planning. We’re best to get them home when we can.” Luke replied, “Sky, you come with me and Sanjay and you three can go in Rani’s car.”

“The one night I want to take a break from aliens, we have to go out and look for them.” Clyde huffed.

“Come on.” Rani laughed as she took his hand and pulled up from the couch.

“Oh, this will be so good! First alien since I’ve come home.” Maria grinned.

“Yeah.” Clyde said with a sarcastic tone, “Great!”

They all headed out to the cars and drove into town. It was a Saturday night and quite busy but thankfully, they found empty parking spaces. After Luke and Rani both paid for their spaces, they started looking around. Luke used his sonic pen to scan the area. They walked along the streets as they talked and they weren’t getting any closer. Maria was in a bit of a daze when someone bumped into her. She turned to see a girl around her age who looked scared.

“Oh, sorry.” Maria smiled.

The girl said nothing as she still wore that same scared expression on her face. Maria frowned, wondering what was wrong. She was about to say something, ask if she needed some help but before she could, the girl disappeared. Literally into thin air.

“Luke.” Maria pointed, “That girl, she just disappeared. Like she just went ‘poof’ and she was gone.”

Luke scanned with his sonic pen, Sky now pulling up her sleeve to reveal her sonic bracelet. They both scanned as they picked up alien energy.

“That’s the Turcid, eh?” Sky asked.

“I think so.” Luke nodded, “Let’s go this way.”

They walked down the street quickly. Luke and Sky kept an eye on their sonic devices but suddenly, their readings went through the roof. 

“Stop! Stop!” Luke said. He turned slowly as he looked up. They stood in front of a restaurant that had large windows. He could see the Turcid lifeform running through the restaurant at the back, “Come on, we’ll go around the back!”

\- - -

“And then Donna says ‘I don’t mean big, I mean flipping enormous!’ and I am not joking, the sting was enormous.” John explained as he laughed.

“Oh.” Sarah Jane laughed as she wiped her eyes, “Was it really that big?”

“Flipping enormous.” John nodded as he took a sip of his wine. Sarah Jane laughed, “It turns out he was the vicar and he was Lady Eddison’s son.” 

“I bet Agatha Christie loved that.” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“Oh absolutely.” John grinned.

Sarah Jane laughed again as she pushed her hair behind her ear, looking over the restaurant. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A reptilian lifeform. They were running out of a back door. Sarah Jane sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“What’s wrong?” John rested his hand on hers that rested on the table, “Are you feeling alright?”

“I have just seen an alien running through the restaurant.” Sarah Jane huffed.

“You’re joking?” John turned as he looked over his shoulder before back at Sarah Jane “What did they look like?”

“Like the Veil, they looked more red though and a little smaller.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Turcid! Oh, brilliant!” John grinned, “Excuse me, waiter. Can we have our bill please?”

“John, we haven’t had our dessert yet.”

“I promise I’ll buy you a tub of Ben & Jerry’s after we find them.”

Sarah Jane just sighed. John paid the bill and they left. They then headed around the back of the restaurant as they looked around. John rummaged through bins as Sarah Jane crossed her arms, shivering a little. John lifted up bin bags but couldn’t find anything. He turned around as he put his hands on his hips when he looked at Sarah Jane.

“We won’t be long, I promise.” John said softly, “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” Sarah Jane rubbed her arms.

“You’re cold.” John said softly as he rubbed her arms to heat her up. He then took off his blazer and put around her shoulders, “You should have brought a coat.”

“It was warm before we left. I also didn’t expect to be standing behind a restaurant looking for an alien.” Sarah Jane replied before sighing.

“We won’t be long.” John chuckled.

“This is our anniversary.” Sarah Jane whined.

“It wouldn’t be our anniversary if an alien didn’t appear, would it?” John raised a brow.

Sarah Jane sighed again. John kissed her forehead as he chuckled. He pulled on the lapels of his blazer gently to make it more cozy for Sarah Jane as she looked up at him with a slightly conflicted look. John smiled down at her and finally, she smiled a small smile but before they could do anything, they heard a bang. 

“What was that?” Sarah Jane asked as she stepped a little closer towards John.

“I don’t know.” John said. He turned as he kept Sarah Jane behind him. They walked slowly before they heard something else.

“We’re meant to be hiding! Why are you banging bags about?” Sky asked as she got up.

“I didn’t mean it! It was digging into my side.” Luke replied. He then turned as his eyes widened when he saw his parents, “Oh. Hello.”

“What are you two doing here? I thought you were staying at home.” Sarah Jane stepped out from behind John.

“Well, we kinda got caught up with trying to find an alien.” Luke shrugged. Sanjay and Clyde stepped out from behind a large recycling bin whilst Rani and Maria got up from some wheelie bins.

“Oh, you’re joking.” Sarah Jane huffed.

“You were looking for the Turcid too?” John’s face lit up.

“Yeah, Mr. Smith detected them when we were having dinner.” Maria replied, “How did you know?”

“Sarah Jane saw them in the restaurant.” John pointed.

“Did no one else see them?” Rani frowned.

“Not that I’m aware of. It must have made a quick escape.” John shrugged, “They can shapeshift. They might have done before they left the restaurant.”

“Apparently they’re adolescent. That’s what Mr. Smith said.” Sanjay shrugged.

“Oh that’s not good. We better get looking, we don’t want them running around here for long.” John said as he took out his sonic screwdriver, “Let’s have a look around here first.”

The kids and John all went to look around the alleyway once more. Sarah Jane sighed as she looked down at her watch, knowing she was going to have to use it to scan the area. She was aware of footsteps approaching when she looked up and saw Clyde. He smiled a small smile, his hands in his pockets.

“Did he drag you out here when you said about the alien?” Clyde asked.

“Yep.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“Same. The one night we get to relax, an alien rocks up.” Clyde huffed.

“Tell me about it.” Sarah Jane crossed her arms, “We didn’t even get dessert, he was that excited.”

“You’re joking?” Clyde’s eyes widened, “I’d be having a word.”

Sarah Jane giggled. There was suddenly another clatter close by. They all stopped, looking around for any clues. It had been raining a little earlier in the day so the ground was still a little wet and there was a splash through one of the small puddles. John stepped forward slowly as he held up his sonic screwdriver and activated it. The Turcid life form appeared in front of them, clearly very confused by how John took them out of their disguise. John could tell they were startled by this and they were about to run.

“No, no, it’s okay. We’re friendly.” John reassured the young alien, “You can trust us. I’m John and this is my wife, Sarah Jane. These are our children and their friends. What’s your name?”

“Nova.” Nova replied in a soft voice. She looked around them slowly. She was unsure if she could make a run for it.

“Nova. That’s a lovely name. Tell me, Nova, how did you get to Earth?” John asked.

“I think I must have teleported here. My powers are a little crazy at the moment.” Nova chuckled softly, “The only trouble is that I don’t know how to get back.”

“I can imagine. How old are you if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Thirty four.”

Sarah Jane and the kids’ eyes all widened at the same time. They were all so shocked. Nova was meant to be a teen?

“Oh, I’m sorry, Nova. Turcids have a different lifespan from us. Adolescence starts a lot later for them than in us.” John explained to everyone. They simply nodded. John turned back to Nova, “We could get you back home, we have devices that can help you do that.”

“You do?” Nova asked, “I didn’t know humans were this advanced.”

“Well, not all humans. You’ve come to the right place or yet, met the right humans.” John laughed.

Nova laughed too. John pointed to Luke, “Luke, are you able to take Nova home so Mr. Smith can send her back to her home?”

“Yeah, of course.” Luke nodded as he took his keys out of his pocket.

“Perfect. Now, Nova, my son will take you back to our home and they will get you home. The transport might be a little strange for you but just relax because once you get used to it, it will be fine.” John explained.

“Alright.” Nova nodded, “Thank you so much.”

“It’s not a trouble.” John smiled, “Luke?”

“Yes. We should get going.” Luke nodded.

They all started to walk, Sarah Jane following after them when John grabbed her hand. He shook her head when she frowned but Maria turned.

“Are you two not coming?” Maria asked.

“We’re gonna have a walk about. We’ll be home not long after you.” John smiled.

Maria just nodded and the kids and Nova all left. Sarah Jane turned to him as he smiled at her.

“A walk?” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“To the shops. For some ice cream.” John smirked.

Sarah Jane giggled. She took his hand and they left the alleyway, heading to the shops nearby. They soon got a taxi back to Bannerman Road and headed up to the attic. Nova was still in the attic as they waited for Mr. Smith to find the right coordinates. He soon did and they said their goodbyes and Nova was back home.

“How history repeats itself.” Rani said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Luke asked.

“Us having pizza, those two on a date, an alien that needs to get home. It’s becoming a natural occurrence at this rate.” Rani chuckled.

“Well, at least you weren’t spying on us tonight.” Sarah Jane replied.

“We were tempted to.” Maria smiled.

“Ha-ha.” Sarah Jane laughed sarcastically.

The kids went back to having their dinner and Sarah Jane and John headed downstairs. Sarah Jane was in the living room as she tidied up the couch from earlier in the day. She heard the front door open and close and was surprised when she saw John appear in the living room smelling a little like firewood. He grabbed a folded up blanket and handed it to her.

“Go out to the garden, I’ll be out in a minute.” John said.

“What are you doing?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Just go outside.” John reassured her. 

Sarah Jane took the blanket and walked out to the garden. There was a fire set up for them and Sarah Jane sat on the garden bench. She put the blanket over herself as she watched fire crackle. She then looked up to the night sky and smiled to herself. The stars seemed to shine a little brighter tonight and she even saw a few shooting stars go past. 

“Here we are.” John announced his arrival as he closed the gate. He then turned and Sarah Jane noticed the ice cream tub with two spoons poking out of it he had in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other, two glasses balanced in his fingers. Sarah Jane giggled when she saw him as he put everything down on the little table.

“What did I do to deserve this treat?” She asked.

“Many things.” John smiled.

Sarah Jane laughed softly as she watched him pour the wine. He then handed her the glass before grabbing the ice cream tub. He joined her on the bench as they took a sip of wine before beginning to eat the ice cream.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to have dessert back in the restaurant.” John said.

“It’s alright. This is better than any fancy desserts anyway.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Good.” John laughed as he watched Sarah Jane kick off her heels. He wrapped the blanket around him too, his arm around Sarah Jane’s waist. John took a spoonful of ice cream as he watched Sarah Jane watching the stars. He loved that look of wonder in her eyes and loved how it made her more beautiful. He moved in, kissing her cheek softly, “You’re so beautiful.”

Sarah Jane smiled as she turned to look at him. She then noticed some ice cream on his lip and she started to laugh.

“You’ve got ice cream on your mouth.” Sarah Jane wiped his lips with her thumb before looking at him. John wiped her cheek where he had kissed her as they made eye contact for a moment, small smiles on their lips. They moved in, kissing each other lovingly, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	8. The Nightmare of a Lifetime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s a normal October morning but suddenly, both Sarah Jane and John suffer a fainting spell.

“Right,” John said as he got up from the desk when his class were all walking in, “Settle down everyone. Rebecca, could you open that window please? Thank you. Good morning everyone, how are we all?”

“Good.” A few students said, some nodding. John started handing out some printouts for his glass.

“How was your weekend, sir?” One girl asked.

“It was very good, thank you. Did you all have a good weekend?” John asked the class.

“Yeah.” Some students replied.

“What did you do, sir?” One boy asked.

“Oh, you know,” John walked back to his desk. He obviously was not going to say how he and Sarah Jane spent their Saturday looking for a young Chivo lifeform in a H&M store whilst Sky picked out a dress for a party. He smiled when he looked at his students, “Just the usual. Marking and spending time with the family.”

“Did you not do anything exciting?” The boy asked.

“My life is wonderfully boring, Leo. It would surprise you how boring it is.” John chuckled before going to his desk and sitting down. John seemed to feel a little dizzy when he sat down but figured he might have sat too quickly, “Okay, register before I get in trouble. Leo, you’re here. Sophie?”

“Here.” Sophie replied.

“Andrew?”

“Here.”

“Rebecca’s here. Abby’s here.” John marked his register on the computer. He felt his forehead becoming sweaty. It was strange, his classroom must have been quite warm this morning. He looked up, “Rebecca, sorry, could you open that other window too? It’s very warm in here, thanks.”

“Sir, it’s freezing!” Another boy said.

“I’m boiling.” John said as he tugged at his collar a little, “Our body temperatures must be very different, Ben. Are you sure you’re not an alien?”

The class laughed.

“My dad says aliens aren’t real.” Ben crossed his arms.

“Well.” John shrugged, making the class laugh again, “Ben’s obviously here. Hannah?”

“Here.”

“Nathan?”

“Here.”

“Joey?”

“Here.”

“Gemma’s here. Dylan’s here.” John blinked. His eyes felt dry and that dizzy spell came back. Maybe he was coming down with a cold or something. He wasn’t too worried. He needed to work so he was going to carry on, “Scarlett?”

“Not here.” A girl answered.

“Okay. Ryan?”

“Not here either.”

“Oh dear.” John marked them absent, “Hope they’re alright. They’re never off.”

“There is a bug going about again.” Dylan said.

“Yeah, there is.” John nodded, “Chloe?”

“Here.”

“Sir, are you feeling alright?” Leo asked.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit warm, how?” John asked with a smile.

“You look really pale.” Leo replied.

“Yeah, like a ghost.” Rebecca nodded, shivering a little next to the window.

“No, no, I’m fine.” John chuckled, “Just warm. Aaron?”

“Here.”

“And Jade?”

“Here.”

“Molto bene!” John exclaimed as he submitted his register. He got up as he grabbed his whiteboard pen as he started to write on the board, “So, physics! Physics, physics, physics, phys…” He was cut short. John had another dizzy spell but this felt worse. The blood seemed to rush from his head. He felt incredibly drained, “Could one of you do me a favour and maybe get one of the first aid ladies? I feel as though I am about to faint.”

And with that, John collapsed.

\- - -

Sarah Jane walked into the attic with a cup of tea. She put her reading glasses on before sitting down at her desk and she logged on. As she waited, she turned to see Mr. Smith was out.

“Good morning, Mr. Smith.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Good morning, Sarah Jane.” Mr. Smith replied, “How are you today?”

“I’m good. I had a little dizzy spell downstairs actually but I think I must have got up too quickly from the couch.” Sarah Jane chuckled as she took a sip of her tea, “How are you?”

“As fine as a super alien computer could be.” Mr. Smith replied.

Sarah Jane just chuckled before going back to her computer. She clicked onto her word document she had been typing up over the weekend and scrolled down to where she had last left it.

“Any news for me today?” Sarah Jane asked. She blinked a little, her eyes feeling incredibly dry. 

“Not much. Just the usual about politicians.” Mr. Smith replied.

“Oh, yeah. I already saw that stuff.” Sarah Jane smiled as she turned to look at Mr. Smith. She seemed to have another dizzy spell again and she rubbed her head, “Oh, another dizzy spell.”

“Are you feeling alright, Sarah Jane?” Mr. Smith asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I’m probably just tired. Need a holiday.” Sarah Jane giggled, “It’ll be nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure? I can take out a mediscan if you need.” He offered.

“No, no.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “I’ll be fine.”

Sarah Jane started to type her article. As she got through some sentences, she started to feel incredibly tired and struggled to breath a little. She rested her hand on her forehead for a moment, feeling it burn up. She wondered if she was coming down with a cold or some sort of bug. She tried her best to continue working but it got worse and worse.

“Mr. Smith?” Sarah Jane stood slowly.

“Yes, Sarah Jane?” Mr. Smith replied.

“I think I will have that mediscan.” Sarah Jane approached the computer slowly. She rubbed her head as she felt dizzy again, “Just to… Just to see…” She started feeling more breathless, “To see what’s going on.”

Sarah Jane took another sharp inhale before finally collapsing to the floor, lying on the carpet right in front of Mr. Smith.

\- - -

Sarah Jane opened her eyes slowly to the sun shining brightly through the window. She squinted her eyes as she looked around the room and found that she wasn’t in her bedroom. She went to sit up quickly but she struggled. She rested her hand on her stomach and found it to be a lot larger than it was earlier. Sarah Jane frowned as she got up and went to the closest mirror. Sarah Jane could not believe what she saw in front of her.

She was pregnant and not only that, she had to be at least twenty years younger than she really was. She looked like she was in her thirties. She stroked her face, noticing how smooth her skin was. Her hair even looked different. It was all wavy and long, flowing down her back. She studied everything about herself, touching and looking at her hair before lifting up her pyjama top and looking at her large belly. She was so confused as she looked at herself before looking around the room. The room was big and nothing like her room at Bannerman Road. Sarah Jane noticed framed pictures at the side as she picked them up. They were of her and her family. John, Luke, and Sky. But John looked younger too and Luke and Sky were children. In fact, they were infants. Sky looked exactly how she did when she was left on her doorstep though her hair was longer and she had dark blonde curls. There was also a wedding photo of Sarah Jane and John. In the photo, they stood in front of a church and they looked totally different from their normal wedding. But she seemed to remember this one. And she remembered having her children and so many other things. Things that didn’t happen in her other life.

Sarah Jane walked over to the window as she looked out. The garden was large and bright with flowers. It was clear they lived in the middle of a field in the countryside. This was so different from Bannerman Road and her normal life. Sarah Jane thought she was dreaming but it felt so real. Everything about it. Absolutely everything.

Sarah Jane grabbed her dressing gown before leaving the room. When she stepped out into the hall, she frowned as she looked at the surroundings. There were photos everywhere and the hall was long. She looked into some of the rooms, noticing Sky’s room painted in pale yellow paint with a white cot and Luke’s room painted in baby blue with toys all over the floor. Sarah Jane finally reached the stairs with a large window where the sun shone through, the trees outside giving shade. Very different from the rainy day from earlier.

Sarah Jane walked through the house, getting a little out of breath as she held onto her stomach. She could hear voices and decided to follow them. A child’s laugh rang through the house with some music on the radio playing. The strong smell of cooking flowed through the house and was almost like a trail for Sarah Jane to follow. Finally, she reached the kitchen.

John pottered around the kitchen with Luke and baby Sky in their high chairs. John was speaking to the two quietly and Luke seemed to squeal with laughter. Luke had to be around two or three and Sky could have at least been a year. The kitchen was big and quite fashionable. She looked around herself, noticing more pictures, trinkets and other little things that clearly held some value.

“Good morning, mistress.” K-9 trundled in. She really didn’t expect to see him.

“Good morning, K-9.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“The baby is doing well this morning, mistress. Very steady heartbeat.” K-9 scanned.

“Mama!” Sky exclaimed as she patted her hands on the little table on her high chair.

“Morning, mummy.” Luke smiled as he ate his toast.

“Good morning.” Sarah Jane giggled. She kissed the tops of their heads.

“Oh, there you are.” John grinned as he held a plate he had just washed when he turned to look at her. Sarah Jane stood behind the high chairs so he could only see her top half, “I was about to come up and get you.”

Sarah Jane was about to speak as she walked around the high chairs, revealing her bump. John dropped the plate when he saw her large bump underneath her pyjama top. The plate he dropped thankfully didn’t shatter and he picked it up quickly.

“Are you alright?” Sarah Jane asked as she rushed to him, looking back to their infant children who had simply covered their ears but then went back to eating.

“Yeah.” John smiled. He didn’t actually know how he got to the kitchen. When he ‘woke up’, this is where he had found himself. Making breakfast for his young family. He had all of his memories but somehow, seeing Sarah Jane with her pregnant belly shocked him, “Yeah, I’m fine.” John looked down at her bump as he rested his hand on her stomach, “How are you? Did you both sleep okay?”

“Yes.” Sarah Jane chuckled as she bowed her head down for a moment. She then looked back at him. Since John had come back to her universe, he had aged only slightly. He looked like he was in early forties now but in this… she wasn’t sure what it was, he looked younger. As young as this body was when she met the Doctor again, “Did you sleep alright?”

“Yes, I did.” John smiled. He then turned as he grabbed a plate of food and handed it to her, “Here you are. I would have brought it up if you were having a lie in.”

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane said as John kissed her cheek.

She walked over to the dining table as she joined the children. John soon joined them as they talked. As she ate, Sarah Jane noticed the calendar on the wall. She noticed a date that was circled and she squinted her eyes as she read it. It was her due date but she somehow knew that it was now three days after it. That made her heart drop a little.

Later on, they started getting ready. Sarah Jane was walking around the house as she looked out other windows and tried to gather all her surroundings. She still didn’t understand what the hell was going when she found herself now in the baby room. The baby room. Sarah Jane walked slowly as she looked around herself. The walls were painted white with various stencil painted shapes on the wall with a large cot and other baby things. Sarah Jane felt overwhelmed as she looked around. She wasn’t sure if this was the life she was meant to live but it felt like it was too much for her to handle but before she could focus on her emotions, someone walked into the room.

John rushed into the room, not aware of Sarah Jane standing next to the cot against the wall. He stopped in the middle of the room as he looked around. He walked up to the window at the end of the room, inspecting outside intently.

“John?”

John turned quickly to see Sarah Jane standing behind him. He wore a blue Spiderman t-shirt with a long sleeved white top underneath with blue jeans and his usual white Converses. He looked a little startled as he looked at her. Sarah Jane couldn’t tell if he was thinking the same as her.

“Sarah.” John smiled as he sighed. She wore a black floral dress that had long sleeves. On her feet, she wore flat white slip on sandals. She had pinned some of her hair back as some of her curls draped over her shoulder. She looked slightly tanned and the highlights in her dark hair were lighter. John stepped forward as he cupped her face, “You look beautiful.”

Sarah Jane smiled before studying his face for a moment. She held onto his elbows, John watching as her smile dropped. He could tell there was something wrong. He started to worry though she hadn’t said anything.

“You’re thinking the same as me, aren’t you?” She asked, “That all of this is a dream?”

“You too?” John asked as he raised his brows. She nodded, “I thought I was going mad.”

“How are we dreaming at the same time?” Sarah Jane asked quietly, “I mean, this can’t be just a dream that we coincidentally had at the same time. Coincidences aren’t real anyways. We can’t see people that are dreaming at the same time in our dreams, can we?”

“Mummy?” Luke called from another room.

“Two seconds, Luke.” Sarah Jane called back.

“No. This has to be something else.” John bit his lip, “The last I remember, I was teaching and then I fainted. I felt horrible beforehand.”

“Me too. I fainted in the attic. I kept getting dizzy.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Daddy?” Luke called from another room.

“Hold on!” John called back, “We had the same symptoms and we must have fainted at the same time. We’re clearly in a deep sleep.”

“But this feels real. Very very real.” Sarah Jane said.

“Yeah. Yeah, it does.” John nodded. He then looked around the room before back at her, “I can’t believe that you’re pregnant.”

“Don’t start.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“Shh. You look beautiful.” John chuckled, “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Well, I’m not going to look like this when we go back to normal so don’t get used to it.” Sarah Jane said. She meant more than just being pregnant. It scared her how young she looked. It made her self conscious too. She was terrified that when they went back home, John would realise that he wanted her to be young again.

John said nothing as he cupped her cheek and kissed her softly. They kissed for a few seconds. Being together seemed to take away their worries for a moment. They broke off the kiss as they looked into one another’s eyes.

“I can feel them kicking.” John laughed as he moved a hand down to her stomach.

Sarah Jane laughed with him as they looked down at her bump. They looked at each other as their smiles slowly dropped. They could already feel themselves becoming attached to this life and they knew they couldn’t. 

“We can’t get attached.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“No we can’t. We’ll be alright though.” John reassured her, “We will.”

“Mummy?” Luke called again.

“Just a minute.” John and Sarah Jane called through to Luke at the same time.

They looked back at each other as they smiled. They kissed once more.

“What do we do?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I’m not sure. Maybe we’re best to just have a look around. See what we can do to get back home.” John replied.

Sarah Jane nodded before a smile crept upon her face.

“Let’s go see what our son wants.”

The two left the baby room and walked down the hall. John walked behind Sarah Jane as he put his hands in his pockets. He watched Sarah Jane as she walked and started to laugh quietly.

“What are you laughing at?” Sarah Jane asked.

“You waddle when you walk.” John said with a chuckle.

Sarah Jane stopped as she turned and gave him a dirty look. John tried to hide his laughter before Sarah Jane started to laugh, shaking her head. The two went into Luke’s room. He was on the floor as he played with toys. He seemed to have a handmade TARDIS toy, one that John vaguely remembers making. When he saw his parents, he shot up from the ground as he ran up to them.

“What is it, Luke?” Sarah Jane asked as he ran up to her and crashed into her legs. She laughed as she wrapped his arms around her legs, “Be careful with mummy.”

“Can we… can we go to the swings?” Luke asked with a big grin. Sarah Jane and John knew this was a perfect opportunity for them to go out and look around.

“I don’t see why not.” John shrugged before he picked up Luke, “I think the park will be great to go to!”

“Yay! Yay!” Luke cheered, making his parents laugh.

John got Luke into his jacket and shoes whilst Sarah Jane woke up baby Sky. She was having a nap whilst Sarah Jane and John were getting ready. The family then headed out. John put on a blue zip up hoodie whilst Sarah Jane put on a large black blazer over her dress. They rushed around the house for the stuff they needed before leaving the house. The couple were surprised by the outside of the large country home they lived in. John pushed Sky in the buggy as Sarah Jane held Luke’s hand as he walked alongside her. It didn’t take long for them to reach the village and thankfully, the park was next to a café. 

“I think if it’s a boy, we should call him Walker.” John said as they walked.

“Why?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Luke, Sky,” John pointed at Luke and Sky before at Sarah Jane’s bump, “Walker. Oh, come on!”

“Nope. You’re not funny. We’re not doing that.” Sarah Jane laughed, “No, I think we need a more sensible name than that.”

“I like Walker. Walker is sensible.”

“I’m not saying it isn’t but people would think we were very devout Star Wars fans. No, I think we should call him Harry or Alistair maybe.”

“I’m not naming the baby after The Imbecile.”

“Oh, shh.”

“Right, well, what if it’s a girl?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Natalie. Lavinia and Barbara are very old names. They could be her middle names.”

“I like them. They’re different.” John smiled.

“What about you? What do you like?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Umm, I’m not sure. Maybe Josephine or Susan or… Donna.” John turned to her.

“Donna?” Sarah Jane smiled. She knew who he was talking about. She knew how much he missed Donna and how it hurt to not see Donna, knowing it could kill her, “Donna Smith…”

“Sarah.” A familiar voice called. It was Gita.

“Sarah Jane.” Sarah Jane said softly. They turned to see Gita and Carla approaching, both looking younger too. Sarah Jane smiled, “Hello.”

“Oh, my darling! Look at your bump. You’re ready to pop!” Gita laughed.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane chuckled as she looked down at her bump.

“It’s like she’s swallowed a planet.” John laughed. Sarah Jane hit his stomach gently.

“You look lovely, Sarah Jane.” Carla smiled before she looked down to Luke, “Clyde and Rani are on the slides, sweetheart.”

“Don’t go too far.” Sarah Jane said to Luke with a smile when he looked up for his mother’s approval. She gave his hand a squeeze before letting him go over to play park.

“Haresh at work?” John asked.

“Yes. Exam time, you know how it is.” Gita laughed, “Me and Carla are going to get some coffee. Would you like some?” 

“Oh yes, please.” John nodded before gesturing to Sarah Jane, “Tea for her.”

“Got it.” Carla smiled with her thumbs up before the two women went off to the cafe.

“Are you not a teacher in this life?” Sarah Jane asked as they walked over to a bench in the play park.

“I’m a scientist.” John raised a brow as he unbuckled Sky from the buggy.

“Of course you are.” Sarah Jane smiled. She sat down on the bench as she noticed a very young Maria and her father, Alan walking to the play park. Sarah Jane smiled at the young Maria as she rushed off to play with Luke and the equally as young Clyde and Rani. Alan watched the children for a moment before noticing Sarah Jane and John at the bench. He waved to the two as he approached, “Hi Alan.”

“Hello.” Alan smiled, “How are you both?”

“We’re good. You?” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re looking really well, not long to go now.” Alan said as he pointed to her bump discreetly.

“Not long at all.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “You missed Gita and Carla by the way.”

“Oh no. I always miss them.” Alan huffed, “You don’t mind keeping an eye on Maria, do you?”

“Not at all.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Thanks. I’ll be back in a minute.” Alan said before walking briskly towards the cafe.

“He fancies you.” John huffed slightly as he gave Sky her bottle.

“He doesn’t ‘fancy’ me.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes, “Alan’s just nice. He’s nice to everyone.”

“Yeah, so nice to everyone.” John said sarcastically.

“Shh.” Sarah Jane said as she hit his thigh playfully. Sky started to laugh which made Sarah Jane laugh, “Daddy’s being silly, isn’t he? He’s being very silly. Being a very jealous, silly daddy.” Sarah Jane stopped when she caught herself in the midst of baby talk, “Oh my God.”

“That was like a baby possessed you.” John raised his brows as he burped Sky.

“It was. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.” Sarah Jane sat back on the bench as she rubbed her bump, “Baby talk really does over power you.”

“Well, at least you’re not saying ‘Eldrad must live’.” John mocked her possessed state.

“Shut up.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she laughed. She sat back on the bench as she rubbed her stomach. The baby had been kicking throughout the day but at that moment, they kicked a little harder than they had been doing. Sarah Jane held her stomach when they kicked, frowning as she sat up, “Ooh.”

“What is it?” John turned with wide eyes. He was on full alert, keeping Sky on his lap, “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay. Just a hard kick.” Sarah Jane turned to him. She giggled when she noticed his worried look. She cupped his face, “Don’t worry. I’m okay.”

“I don’t think I’m cut out for having a pregnant wife.” John sighed.

“Think about how I feel.” Sarah Jane bumped his shoulder. She looked at Sky as she watched her brother and his friends play, “I think she wants to go play with them.”

“Shall I take her over?” John asked.

“Yeah, why not.” Sarah Jane smiled.

John got up from the bench as he walked with Sky to the play park. Sarah Jane giggled as she watched them play, John putting her on the swings as Sky squealed with laughter.

Gita, Carla and Alan soon came back from the cafe with their coffees and Sarah Jane’s tea. They all talked as they joined Sarah Jane on the bench whilst Sarah Jane sat quietly. She happily watched John, Luke and Sky as they played when she had another sharp kick. She played it off well, silently wincing as she rubbed her bump. She simply smiled to the others as she played it off but she suddenly heard a strange noise behind her. Sarah Jane turned as she frowned but nothing was there. Sarah Jane sighed softly and turned back to face the park. 

As Sarah Jane looked in the distance, she noticed a tall man in a tweed blazer walking towards the park. She frowned, noticing his floppy hair and bow tie. It was the Doctor. Sarah Jane got up from the bench, telling the others she’d be back in a moment. She walked over as he got closer.

“Doctor?” Sarah Jane called.

The Doctor looked up when he heard his name being called. He smiled as he jogged up to her. The two smiled, hugging when they reached each other.

“Sarah Jane Smith!” The Doctor hugged her tightly, “How are you?”

“I’m good, what are you doing here?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Oh you know, just looking around, visiting.” The Doctor laughed before he noticed her bump. He pointed, “Have you swallowed a planet?”

“John said the same thing. I’m pregnant.” Sarah Jane laughed.

“You look like you swallowed a planet.”

“Yeah, I’m pregnant.”

“Are you pregnant?”

Sarah Jane just laughed. The two walked over to the park when John noticed them. He approached as he smiled.

“What are you doing here?” John asked with fake anger.

“Visiting. Never mind that, you two have been getting busy, haven’t you?” The Doctor laughed. Sarah Jane and John laughed awkwardly, “The last time I was here, you just had Sky.”

“Well, some things just happen.” John shrugged.

“Daddy!” Luke called.

“Oh, hold on.” John turned, “Coming, son.”

Sarah Jane turned to look at the Doctor who watched John walk over to Luke with a distant look. He turned to her as he smiled.

“You do look wonderful, Smith.” The Doctor nudged her arm gently.

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane chuckled as she rubbed her stomach, “How have you been?”

“Yeah, good. Brilliant. Fantastic!” The Doctor said, “As he would say, ‘molto bene’.”

Sarah Jane giggled. She looked around as she pushed her hair out of her face when a soft breeze flew past. Suddenly, she had a much sharper kick in her stomach.

“Ooh.” Sarah Jane held her stomach as she bent over a little.

“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” Sarah Jane giggled as she went to stand up straight, “The baby’s just making themself known today today.” Sarah Jane laughed before another kick hit her, “Ahh.” She said softly.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” The Doctor asked as he went to take her hand.

“Sarah?” John rushed over to her.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just need to sit down.” Sarah Jane said softly. Another kick, “Ooh.”

“Is it starting?” John asked, his arm around Sarah Jane.

“I don’t know.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“We should go home. I could run back and get the car.” John asked.

“No, no. I’m fine. I just need to sit.” Sarah Jane shook her head but suddenly, she felt something wet trickling down her legs. She looked down, “Oh God. It has started. My water’s broke.”

The panic now set in. John’s heart was now beating very fast. He had never properly experienced this, at least not in a very long time. He seemed to have memories from when Sarah Jane had ‘given birth’ to Luke and Sky and from those memories, she was quite scary during labour from what he remembered. He knew he already had his work cut out for him.

“We should go sit down.” John said as he brought her over to a bench, the Doctor following after them. John helped her sit down on a bench closer to them as he crouched down, “I can go get the car. I think it would be best.”

“No. I need you to stay.” Sarah Jane took a deep breath, “I don’t think I can move.”  
“We need an ambulance.” John said as he looked around. He then looked at the Doctor, “Where’s the TARDIS?”

“Oh, very far away. Very very far away.” The Doctor shook his head.

“What? Surely it’s not too far for us to walk.” John said.

“Nope. Way too far away.” The Doctor replied. 

“Are you serious? She’s in labour.”

“I didn’t really plan to be an actual doctor today. I didn’t even know she was pregnant. That wasn’t my fault, that was yours!”  
“Shut up the both of you.” Sarah Jane huffed as she stood, “I can walk home. I just need to give myself time.”

“Sarah, no way! I’m not letting you walk all that way. Not like this.” John shook his head.

“I want to go home. Please just let me do that.” Sarah Jane said. 

John looked around the park before back at her. He then nodded, kissing her head.

“I’ll go get Luke and Sky.” John said.

“Sarah, you alright?” Gita called over.

“I’m fine, I’m just having some Braxton hicks. It’s probably best for me to go home, Just in case.” Sarah Jane smiled.

“Of course. I hope everything’s alright.” Gita smiled.

“Oh yeah, everything’s fine. Final days.” Sarah Jane chuckled with a little shrug. John walked over with Luke and Sky, buckling Sky into her buggy.

“Yes, Final days.” Gita simply nodded which made Sarah Jane frown.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor watched as Gita, Carla and Alan all faced them as they stood in formation. Sarah Jane took Luke’s hand as the three started to slowly approach, Suddenly, a Dalek eyestalk shot out of all their foreheads. They were Dalek puppets. Sarah Jane and the Doctor’s eyes widened when they held their hands up, Dalek guns coming out of their palms as they shot at them. Thankfully, they missed them but they had to move. Now.

“John!” Sarah Jane exclaimed. John was too busy sorting out the buggy.

John turned when he saw the Dalek puppets approaching. 

“Oh, you’ve got to be joking me!” John huffed.

“You need to move. I’ll hold them back.” The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver from his breast pocket, “Go now!”

Sarah Jane and John ran as the Doctor held the Dalek puppets back. He shot his sonic screwdriver at them before going after the family. John pushed the buggy as Sarah Jane held Luke’s hand. Thankfully, Sarah Jane did not experience any contractions until they got closer to the house. Sarah Jane stood against a wall as her contraction took over. John stopped as he turned to her.

“Come on, Sarah. We can do it. We need to get home.” John said.

“I need to let it pass.” Sarah Jane panted, “Just give me a second.”

“Is mummy alright?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, she’s okay. It seems your little brother or sister have decided that they want to come today.” John reassured his son. 

The Doctor was now approaching as they turned. Sarah Jane’s contraction passed, she now stood up straight as she took Luke’s hand again.

“You alright?” John asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“Come on.” The Doctor said as they started to run again to the house.

They ran to the house as John opened the gate. He pushed Sky’s buggy in as he went to wait for Sarah Jane, Luke and the Doctor. Sarah Jane let Luke in first when the Doctor grabbed her wrist. She turned, wondering what was wrong.

“You replaced me. Replaced me with him!” The Doctor said through gritted teeth, his fingers digging into her wrist, “You said you would never forget me.”

“What?” Sarah Jane frowned, “Doctor, what are you talking about?”

“You forgot me. You went to him instead.” The Doctor growled. His fingers dug in harder.

“Doctor, please. You’re hurting me.” Sarah Jane winced.

“And you hurt me! You should pay.”

“I’m sorry. I am. Please, let me go.”

An arm appeared around Sarah Jane, a sonic screwdriver in the hand of the arm. Sarah Jane turned to see John as he aimed the sonic screwdriver at the Doctor.

“Get away from my wife.” He said, activating his sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor exclaimed in pain as he backed up, his hands over his ears. John put his arm around Sarah Jane as they and the kids ran into the house. John shut the door as Sarah Jane and the kids headed upstairs.

“K-9, protect us.” John pointed at the door.

“Defence activated, master.” K-9 moved to the door.

John rushed up the stairs and ran down the hall. Luke led the way as he, Sarah Jane and Sky headed to their bedroom. John ran to Sarah Jane as she leaned against the wall. She was clearly having another contraction, biting her lip to stifle her scream of pain.

“Sarah? Sarah, it’s alright. Just breathe.” John soothed as he cupped her face.

“If we stay in this life, we’re not having any more children.” Sarah Jane panted.

“Got it.” John laughed. He then turned to look at Sky and Luke who stood either side of Sarah Jane and John in the hall, “You two go into our room, okay? We’ll be through in a second.”

There was banging on the front door and John knew he had to get his family to safety.

“We have you now, Doctor.” Luke said suddenly.

“What?” John asked, aware of Sarah Jane straightening up as she held onto his forearms.

“You cannot escape us.” Sky said. Both their voices were clear as day and not childlike at all.

Before the couple could do anything, they watched as their children turned into fully grown Zygons. Both their hearts dropped, knowing they had to get away.

“Oh Christ, the kids are Zygons!” John said, “Come on.”

“Where are we going to go?” Sarah Jane asked.

“In here.” John opened the door they stood in front of. He guided Sarah Jane into the baby room before pulling the chest of drawers against the door to barricade them in.

The Zygons banged on the door as Sarah Jane and John backed away from the door. Suddenly, Sarah Jane had another contraction. She yelped in pain as she latched onto John. John helped her down to the carpet as he sat with her. Sarah Jane cried out in pain, her slightly sweaty fringe sticking to her forehead.

“Hey, shh. Just breathe.” John soothed her as he pushed her fringe off her forehead, “It’s alright. It’s alright.”

“What’s happening?” Sarah Jane panted as she came down from her contraction, “Why is all of this happening at once?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe we’re going home.”

“You think?”

“Unless, something bad is coming.”

“I wonder what. Maybe I’ll give birth to the antichrist.”

“That would definitely be interesting.”

The two laughed. John grabbed a towel that was on the side when suddenly, outside became very dark. John turned on a lamp as he joined Sarah Jane on the floor once more. He dabbed her forehead gently.

“John?” 

“Yeah?”

“For the baby, you know how we were talking about names earlier.”

“We don’t need to talk about this now.” John shook his head. He thought she was only talking about this so they could take their minds off what was outside this room.

“No, listen. I think Donna’s a great name for the baby.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Really?” John looked at her.

“Yeah, I thought maybe Donna Barbara. Barbara, after my mum. The baby would sound like a middle aged woman but I like it.” Sarah Jane giggled.

“I like it too. I love it.” John nodded with a grin. Sarah Jane laughed with him but then another contraction seemed to build, “Shh, shh. It’s alright.”

This contraction was almost excruciating for Sarah Jane. The pain she felt seemed to go past just labour. She cried out in pain, her voice becoming louder as her eyes started to water. John tried his best to soothe her but he struggled. When he looked up, the room started to fall apart. John looked back at Sarah Jane as she stopped screaming in pain, panting as tears fell from her face. The walls started to crumble. Sarah Jane and John kept close to each other, John using his body to protect her as they still sat on the ground. When they looked around, they found themselves still sitting on the ground but everything around them was black. All they could see was each other.

“I think we’re going home.” John said softly. He wiped her tears from her face.

“I think so too.” Sarah Jane nodded tiredly.

“I’ll see you on the other side.” John chuckled.

Sarah Jane laughed before she cupped his face and kissed his lips. She didn’t want to waste any moments with him, especially if this was the end.

\- - -

Sarah Jane opened her eyes slowly. She found herself lying on the couch in the attic as she looked around, pulling herself up. She moved her hand over her stomach and found it was flat again. She looked around when she noticed Luke standing in front of Mr. Smith. Luke turned when he heard her moving around and he sighed a sigh of relief.

“Mum!” Luke rushed over to her as he hugged her tightly, “You’re alright.”

“Of course I’m alright.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “What happened?”

“That alien, the Chivo? They emit this element that you and dad absorbed and it sent you both into a deep sleep.” Luke explained, “Dad fainted and when the school couldn’t get a hold of you, I came here and found you on the floor and me and Mr. Smith managed to break the trance. It was sort of like you were under a spell. Even for me, it’s hard to explain.”

“Oh, Luke, you are so brilliant.” Sarah Jane hugged him tightly, “Where’s your father?”

“He’s at the hospital.” John replied.

“What?!” Sarah Jane’s eyes widened. She feared the worst, the worst being that he didn’t make it out of the dream alive. Sarah Jane shot up from the couch and rushed to the door.

“Mum, wait.” Luke said, running after her when she left the attic.

Sarah Jane and Luke left the house and Luke drove to the hospital. They headed to John’s room, Sarah Jane’s heart beating fast as she walked frantically. As they approached the room, Sarah Jane spotted Sky sitting outside the room. When they got closer, the blinds in the room were down and the door was closed. Sky’s mouth dropped when she saw her mum, shooting up.

“Mum?” Sky said.

“Sky.” Sarah Jane hugged her tightly. She looked up at the closed door, “What’s going on?”

“Well…” Sky went to explain but Sarah Jane was too quick to open the door.

Sarah Jane opened the hospital room door as John turned from buttoning his shirt. Sarah Jane sighed a sigh of relief as she ran up to him, hugging him tightly.

“You’re okay.” Sarah Jane whispered, “You’re okay.”

“Of course I’m okay.” John laughed as he held her tightly, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane broke off the hug as he gripped her chin. Her eyes bubbled with tears as she looked at him, “I thought you were dead.”

“You tend to make that mistake.” John chuckled.

Sarah Jane laughed. John brought her lips to his as they kissed lovingly. Sarah Jane held onto his waist, her hands clinging onto his untucked shirt. They broke off the kiss as they looked at each other intently.

“I love you.” Sarah Jane studied his face.

“I love you too.” John smiled.

The two hugged tightly. John made eye contact with Luke and Sky who watched from the door. He gestured for them to come over and they did. John brought them into the hug as they all held each other tightly.

John was being discharged from the hospital so they soon went home after that. Luke stayed for dinner before going back home. Sky went to bed as she left her parents in the living room. They cuddled as they sat on the couch, not wanting to let one another go. John sensed that something was up with Sarah Jane because she was so quiet. He looked down to her as she rested her head on his chest, watching the television. John stroked her hair, kissing her head softly. Finally, Sarah Jane looked up to him, smiling a small smile.

“Are you alright?” John asked.

Sarah Jane just nodded. She was about to turn her head away when he made her look back at him. Sarah Jane studied his face as he cupped her cheek with a small smile.

“You can tell me.” John nodded, “If it’s about the dream, I know it was scary but we’re home now. We’re safe.”

“It’s not that it was scary.” Sarah Jane sat up, moving from him, “We had a whole other life. Even our family… we had another child on the way.”

“But we can’t grow attached to that life, you even said that yourself.” John said, “It wasn’t real.”

“I know but still… we were so close to that.” Sarah Jane said as she looked at him. 

John brought her into his arms again. He kissed her head softly. Sarah Jane closed her eyes, her head against his chest as she listened to his heartbeat. 

“I’m sorry.” He apologised.

“What for?” Sarah Jane lifted her head.

“For not coming back for you when I should have.” John said, “We maybe could have had that life.”

“No. No.” She shook her head, “It wasn’t meant to be. You came at the right time. We’re better this way.”

John rested his hand on the base of her neck as he brought her lips to his. They kissed for a moment, forgetting about everything around them. When they broke off the kiss, they looked at each other. John pushed her hair out of her face, admiring the little details of her face that he loved so much.

“You’re so beautiful.” John said softly.

“Not missing that young face then?” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“Why would I? You still have that young face.” John grinned.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sarah Jane giggled as she rested her forehead against his chest before looking at him, “I love you so much. You mean the world to me.”

“I love you too.” John smiled. He leaned in, kissing her once more. Sarah Jane then cuddled into his body as John held her close. He then started to chuckle as he thought about the dream, “I wonder if you being pregnant is some sort of premonition. Maybe we might end up adopting another kid. Or you somehow get pregnant.”

“Yeah, the latter is not happening.” Sarah Jane sat up as she took a sip of her wine, “Maybe I am glad I’m over fifty.”

John laughed as he sat up too, grabbing his wine glass. Sarah Jane looked at him as he smiled at her. The two clinked their glasses together, taking sips of the wine. John then wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she cuddled in. Though they might not have had the life they had imagined or a ‘perfect life’, their life was amazing and it was perfect for them.


	9. Power Surge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John has forgotten his lunch. Again.

“Right, the test will start once you’re all settled so make sure you’re all prepared, alright?” John explained to the class, “Get your eight hours sleep, stay hydrated and I’ll see you next Monday.” 

On time, the bell went. John opened the door for the kids as they left. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Sarah Jane standing there with a smile. She wore a baby blue fabric shirt that had no buttons, black slightly flared trousers and a pair of black combat boots and a black long coat. All the kids said goodbye to John before they left the room.

“And to uh, what do I owe this pleasure?” John leaned against the door.

“You forgot your lunch.” Sarah Jane lifted up the packed lunch, “Again.”

“Oh. Come in.” John’s eyes widened, itching the back of his head awkwardly.

Sarah Jane chuckled as he let her past. She walked into the classroom and John closed the door. He walked over to her with his hands in his pockets as Sarah Jane put the lunchbox on the desk.

“First time I’ve forgotten it this term. That’s not bad.” John shrugged.

“Well, I am surprised you didn’t forget it the whole of last term.” Sarah Jane turned around, her hand on her hip.

“I did have my lovely wife to keep me in check.” John approached her.

“Oh, she must have been busy this morning.” Sarah Jane smirked as she walked up to him.

“I think she was.” John nodded as he took her by the waist and brought her close to him. The two kissed as they held each other tightly, Sarah Jane’s hands at John’s shoulders. He slowly backed her against the side table, “How long are you staying?”

“How long have you got?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Until the end of the day.” John grinned. Sarah Jane went to kiss him but John continued talking, “Although I need to check if I need to substitute a class.” Sarah Jane leaned in again but he continued, “And there’s an assembly on today. I probably should go to that at some point.” Once again, Sarah Jane went to kiss him, “Oh, and I have a department meeting but that won’t take too long. It’s just to discuss a new order for more equipment and… what is it?”

“I better let you go, you seem busy.” Sarah Jane moved her hands down his chest.

“No, no. Don’t go. I can skip the assembly. Haresh will probably be giving one of the years a telling off anyways. I can skip the meeting as well, honestly I don’t even know what we’re meeting for. The order has nothing to do with me.” John shrugged. He wore a puppy dog look on his face, pouting as he spoke, “Don’t leave. Please.”

Sarah Jane smiled slowly as she moved one hand to the base of this neck, another to his waist. She moved in again as she claimed his lips. His hands on her waist moved up her back under her coat. Suddenly, the lights went out and they broke off the kiss as they looked up.

“That’s odd.” John said.

“Probably just a power cut.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

“Yeah, probably.” John looked back at her, “Where were we?”

Sarah Jane giggled as they kissed again. They clung to each other as their kiss grew more heated. John went to lift her onto the side table when there was a knock at the door. They broke off the kiss again as they looked at each other. John sighed.

“She knows when you’re here. I’m convinced she does.” John shook his head, “Is she telepathic and no one has been telling me?”

“Go answer the door.” Sarah Jane giggled as she patted his chest. She then realised there was lipstick on his face as she grabbed his hand, “Oh wait.” She licked her thumb before rubbing his face to clean it, “There you go.”

“Thanks.” John smiled. John went to the door as Sarah Jane fixed her lipstick. He answered it, “Hey, Sky! Hello, Jade.”

“Something’s wrong.” Sky walked into the class with her best friend, Jade following behind. Jade was a tall caucasian girl with long wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes. Jade knew about aliens and had even come with them on some adventures but Sarah Jane was a little wary of bringing another child into the work they do.

“What do you mean? It’s only a power cut.” John shrugged.

“No, it’s something more… When did you get here?” Sky spotted her mother.

“Just the now. Your dad forgot his lunch again.” Sarah Jane crossed her arms.

“Oh.” Sky nodded. She then walked over to the desk as she put her bag down, “Anyway, there is something wrong?”

“How do you know?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Look.” Sky tried to use her powers to turn on the lights but nothing happened, “I’ve been able to do it before. The power is a bit bad here but I’ve always been able to do it. Always.”

“Maybe they’ve become Sky-proof.” John smiled.

“Dad.” She huffed, “Why would the school do that?”

“Show them the other thing too.” Jade nudged Sky’s arm.

“Oh, yeah.” Sky nodded. She then held out her hands to create an electricity ball but nothing was happening. Simply little sparks in her hands, “See? My powers aren’t working at all.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Sarah Jane frowned as she checked her temperature. She became worried. She looked back at John, “John, scan her.”

John took out his sonic screwdriver and tried to scan her but nothing was happening. It wasn’t working. He asked Sarah Jane for her sonic lipstick but that wasn’t working either. John tried to work Sky’s sonic bracelet too but nothing.

“They’re not working.” John frowned. He decided to check Sky over, “She looks fine. Perfectly fine. You don’t feel unwell, do you?”

“No, I feel fine. But I don’t understand. Why aren’t my powers working?” Sky asked.

“I don’t know but we’ll find out. There has to be something that’s caused this.” John said.

“Do you think it’s the Slitheen?” Sarah Jane asked, “They wouldn’t try to use the same plan, would they? The sun looks fine though.”

“I don’t know. You know how stupid they can be.” John shrugged, “Maybe we should have a look around. See what’s happening in the rest of the school.”

Sarah Jane and John led the way as Sky and Jade grabbed their bags and followed after them.

“We’re skipping to aliens this quickly in the game?” Jade raised a brow.

“I think so.” Sky nodded, “Scared?”

“Absolutely.” Jade laughed.

They walked down the hall when they bumped into Haresh. He looked up and down the hall when he noticed the four approaching.

“What’s happening?” John asked.

“Power cut. It’s strange though, my phone’s not working at all. There must be something wrong with the circuits again.” Haresh shrugged. He then pointed to Sarah Jane, “What are you doing here?”

“Forgot his lunch.” Sarah Jane gestured to John with a faint chuckle, “We better get going, dear.”

“Oh, yes. We’re just going to have a look around, see if we can help in any way.” John shrugged.

“Yeah. Yeah, fair enough.” Haresh nodded, “I’ll join you soon, I just need to get something from my office.”

“See you there.” John waved as he and Sarah Jane led the way as they walked briskly.

“Bye, sir.” Sky waved as Jade smiled.

“Bye, girls.” Haresh smiled as he watched them, a frowning as he watched them, “What will they help with?” He asked himself.

The four headed to the large dining hall. The kids were slightly wary and confused though they continued to eat their lunch but the teachers were acting like everything was fine. John and Sarah Jane looked around as Sky and Jade spoke to some of their friends in the passing. 

“Do you remember where the electrics are?” John asked.

“This way.” Sarah Jane pointed.

They left the dining hall and walked through the halls until they reached the electrical room. Sarah Jane walked forward as she looked at the white panels.

“I don’t know if it’ll open.” Sarah Jane approached the white panels. She rested her hand on the panels as it then slid open, “Oh.”

“Maybe not all electrics have stopped.” Jade shrugged.

“How are you feeling? Do you feel your powers coming back?” John turned to Sky.

“I don’t think so.” Sky shook her head, “I do feel a little tingly.”

“Come on.” Sarah Jane said quietly, leading the way.

They walked further into the dark electrical department. Jade jumped a little when she saw the panel close behind her. She followed on after the family as they walked through the dark. They could hear faint sparks and soon, they found other teachers in the school that had been, what it seemed to be, stored in some sort of life support. They were all unconscious and against the wall with various orange organ-like tubes.

“John.” Sarah Jane’s eyes widened.

“Zygons.” John said.

“Zygons?” Sky asked, “What are they?”

“Not good news at all.” John replied, “Let’s put it that way.”

“So glad to see you’ve joined us.” A husky voice said. The four snapped around to the three large Zygons standing behind them. Sky yelped as John grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand and made sure the girls were behind him.

“Eww.” Jade’s eyes widened, “What is that?!”

“We are your superiors.” The Zygon leader stepped forward.

“Not when you look like a squid, mate.” Jade replied.

“We’ve got another Clyde on the cards.” John said quietly to Sarah Jane before turning to the Zygon leader, “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

“Your children.” The Zygon leader laughed, “We want your children.”

“Why?” Sarah Jane asked.

“They are the future. Your future. And that’s why we are going to destroy that.” The Zygon leader stepped forward, “We are going to destroy it all. Now!”

Before they could do anything, the other Zygon behind the leader approached the large machine. There was a microphone and he spoke into it.

“Begin.”

“Begin? Begin what?” John asked, “What are you going to do?”

“We just told you. We’re destroying your future.” The Zygon leader laughed.

There were screens on the machine from the CCTV cameras in the dining halls. They focused on the children but they could see the teachers walking around. There were two Zygons at the machine and one of them pulled a lever. Suddenly, televisions in the dining hall turned on. They couldn’t see what was on the televisions but it was clear it was something to control them. The teachers suddenly turned into Zygons but the kids didn’t react. They just continued watching the televisions. It was clear what they were doing. They were hypnotising them.

“Let them go!” John stepped forward, “Let them go now!”

“Oh I don’t think so. Our plan will end you all.” The Zygon leader threw his fist up, “You cannot stop us!”

They watched as the kids watched the television with wide eyes before they all stood at the same time. The Zygons in the dining hall seemed to gather behind them like they were waiting for something to happen.

“Why shut down the electricity?” Sarah Jane asked, “So you can use that power to hypnotise the children?”

“Oh, you are smart.” The leader turned, “I’m glad you finally figured it out.”

Sarah Jane and John continued talking to the Zygon leader as they moved closer together. Sky and Jade noticed as they stood directly behind them. Jade shook her hand as she noticed John’s finger tapping against Sarah Jane’s hand.

“Is he doing… morse code?” Jade asked Sky.

Sky studied his finger as Jade looked up and noticed John watching them from the corner of his eye. Sky finally looked up at him as she nodded. Sky grabbed Jade’s arm as they managed to sneak away through the rest of the department.

“What did he say?” Jade asked.

“He wants us to shut down all the electricity. But I don’t know where it is.” Sky shrugged, “I don’t even know if it’s on.”

“It could be the Zygons’ electricity.” Jade said, “Maybe if we shut down their electricity, we can turn on our own.”

“Come on.” Sky smiled as she grabbed her hand as they ran through the machinery until they finally reached the electricity supply.

Sky looked at the large machinery as she tried to figure out what to do. Jade tried her best to keep watch, the voices of Sarah Jane, John and the Zygon leader could be heard not far from them.

“Look.” Sky said, “This cable leads to their machine. If we take this out and then turn on the school’s electricity, we can get everything back to normal.”

“But they might be able to turn it back on.” Jade said, “We can just take it out and leave it?”

“I’m going to destroy it.” Sky started to take off her sonic bracelet before handing it to Jade, “My powers will be back when we turn on the school’s electricity.”

“Are you sure about that? You might hurt yourself.” 

“I know what I’m doing, trust me.”

“Well, what about your bracelet? Surely you could use that.”

“It won’t be ready. It still needs time to gain all of its power but I know I’ll be able to do it.”

“Sky, you know what your mum says about you using your powers. Especially now, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I’ll be okay. Besides, it’s not like you to be against me using my powers.”

“This is different. You could hurt yourself.”

“Please, just help me.” Sky turned to her best friend as she grabbed the top of the large, thick cable, “Please.”

Jade nodded finally. Jade walked around the other side of the cable as they pulled it out of the Zygon technology. They heard it powering down not too far from them and noticed the school’s electricity turning back on.

“It’s working. Sky, it’s working!” Jade grinned.

“I think my powers are coming back. I can feel them.” Sky said before she focused on her hands. She started to create a ball of electricity.

The two girls watched the ball of electricity as it grew larger and larger.

“What’s happening?!” The leader exclaimed.

“It’s stopped. Something’s stopped the transmission.” Another Zygons said.

“It was them. Kill them and the children. Kill them all.” The Zygon leader turned to look at Sarah Jane and John.

“We need to run.” Sarah Jane whispered.

“Just wait.” John said, “Sky needs to destroy it all.”

The Zygon leader approached Sarah Jane and John after he sent away the two other Zygons to find Sky and Jade. They held each other’s hand as they moved back. The leader was about to attack when suddenly, there was a loud bang and the two Zygons that were sent to get Jade and Sky flew back to the ground. Sarah Jane and John both took out their sonic devices, knowing the school electricity was back on. They activated them as they created a high pitch noise that made the leader stumble back in pain. Sarah Jane quickly grabbed John’s hand as they ran through the machinery. 

“How are we going to get rid of them?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I don’t know.” John replied, “We might need to get a hold of Mr. Smith.”

“Sarah Jane!” They heard Jade calling, “Sarah Jane!”

Sarah Jane and John followed Jade’s voice until they found her and Sky. Jade knelt on the floor with Sky’s head in her lap. Sky was unconscious and looked a little pale. Sarah Jane and John’s hearts both dropped.

“What happened?” Sarah Jane went to sit next to Sky, bringing her daughter closer to her.

“I don’t know, she just went to destroy the machine and then she fell back and she was unconscious.” Jade explained, “I tried to get her to wait for you two to do anything but it was too late.”

“John!” Sarah Jane exclaimed when she noticed a Zygon appear behind him. John spun around quickly, aiming his sonic screwdriver at the Zygon as he activated it. The Zygon soon ran away, “She’s so pale. Oh, Sky, what did you do?”

“Let me see her.” John joined them on the ground. He scanned his daughter with his sonic before looking at it.

“Is she alright? John? Is she alright?” Sarah Jane asked. She started to panic, “John?”

“She’s alright, she’s alright.” John reassured her when he stopped reading his screwdriver, “I think her powers must have fired back. Her own power surge.”

“We need to get her out of here.” Sarah Jane said as she grabbed Sky’s bag.

“I’ll take her.” John replied. He picked up Sky, “Let’s go.”

They all ran through when they were met with the three Zygons. Sarah Jane, John and Jade walked back slowly. Sarah Jane took out her sonic lipstick to keep ready but before they could attack them, the Zygons suddenly disappeared. 

“Where did they go?” Jade asked.

“I don’t know.” Sarah Jane scanned with her watch, “They’re definitely gone.”

“We need to help the teachers.” Jade said.

“Quick, we need to move. Those other Zygons could still be out there too.” John replied.

They all ran to the main set up and managed to free the four teachers that had been supported. John put Sky down for a moment as he and Sarah Jane managed to drag them out to the nearest sitting area. John then grabbed Sky as they left the electrical department. Sarah Jane sealed up the door as they headed towards the dining hall. The school bell started to go off and they saw Haresh approaching.

“John!” Haresh walked towards them, “There you are. I’ve been doing checks on all the teachers after I got locked into my office.” He noticed Sky, “It happened here too.”

“What?” Sarah Jane asked.

“The news. When the electricity came back on, the news was saying that children all over the world were being hypnotised. Some sort of hack into school systems everywhere.” Haresh explained, “We’ve been sending emails to all parents, everybody’s parents are here. Jade, your mum will be here too.”

“I’ll take you to your mum, John, you need to go to your class.” Sarah Jane nodded, silently gesturing to him to look around the school.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll take Sky with me, I won’t be two minutes.” John replied.

John took Sky to his classroom as he quickly grabbed his things. As he was picking up his things, he had sat Sky down on his swivel chair at his desk. He quickly packed up his belongings when he noticed her waking up.

“Sky? Sky?” John rushed over to her.

“Hm. Wh- What happened?” Sky asked weakly.

“You had a little power surge.” John laughed as she stroked her hair, “It’s okay though. We’re going home in a minute.”

“Where’s mum and Jade?” Sky asked.

“They’re outside. Apparently everyone’s mum and dad’s here.” John said. He grabbed his packed lunch and put it into his backpack, “Your mum was right to tell me to get a backpack.”

Sky giggled as she rubbed her eyes.

“You okay to walk?” John asked.

“I think so.” Sky replied as she went to stand but she collapsed. John managed to catch her as she looked up, “No. No, I don’t think I can.”

“Okay.” John put his backpack over his arms as it sat on my chest before he turned and crouched in front of Sky, “Get onto my back.”

Sky moved forward as she got onto John’s back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as John held onto her legs. He stood up straight, bouncing a little to make sure she was secure.

“You alright?” John asked.

“Yeah.” Sky replied.

“Right. Let’s go.” John said.

The two left his classroom and headed down the hall. They would walk past very confused teachers and even some children with their parents. John headed into the dining hall as he walked through all the kids who were still leaving the school. They tried to look for the other Zygons but it appeared that they were gone. They went back outside and were shocked by how many people were at the school. Sarah Jane noticed John and Sky coming out of the school when she stood with Haresh. She jogged up to them, checking if Sky was alright. Sarah Jane had walked to the school with John’s lunch earlier so they all went home in John’s car.

When they got home, John took Sky to her room before letting her get changed and get into her bed for some rest. John and Sarah Jane then went up to the attic as Mr. Smith showed them the news as it covered the cover story that had been given. They sat on the steps in front of Mr. Smith when Sarah Jane’s phone then began to ring.

“Hello?” Sarah Jane answered.

“What did you do then?” Kate said sarcastically.

“Well, I was hoping you would enlighten me on what was going on.” Sarah Jane replied, “Those Zygons disappeared into thin air, they wouldn’t have just tapped out at the last minute.”

“We were getting calls from everywhere at the same time. All the same thing. ‘Our school’s had a power cut and all the children were hypnotised’. We managed to do scans and found Zygon lifeforms. Some troops were even sent into schools in France and that’s when we decided to use the mass teleportation to get rid of them.” Kate explained.

“Where are they now?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Being questioned. We’ll find some sort of way to detain them.” Kate replied as Sarah Jane laughed, “What about you then? What did you do? It was clear you stopped it.”

“Well, there was a power cut at the school and Sky realised there was something wrong straight away because her powers weren’t working. We then headed through to an electrical part that the Slitheen used to turn off the sun.” Sarah Jane explained.

“As you do.” Kate nodded.

“Instead of finding Slitheen, we found Zygons and the teachers they were pretending to be. John got Sky and her friend to go and destroy their machine and turn the school power back on but when that happened, Sky’s powers went on overload a bit and she passed out.” Sarah Jane continued, “She’s okay though. She’s having a little sleep.”

“Your school must have been the main source of power for them because then they all shut down.” Kate replied, “Oh, I better go, I have a meeting in five minutes. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. See you soon. Give my love to your mum and the boys for me.” Sarah Jane said.

“I will. See you later, Aunt Sarah.” Kate said but before Sarah Jane could protest, Kate hung up.

“If she calls me ‘Aunt Sarah’ one more time.” Sarah Jane huffed as she put her phone in her pocket.

“I bet that was Allistair’s fault.” John smiled.

“Oh absolutely.” Sarah Jane laughed.

They heard the doorbell suddenly go off from downstairs.

“I’ll get it.” John tapped Sarah Jane’s shoulder before getting up and going downstairs.

A few minutes went by and then the attic door opened again. Sarah Jane turned and smiled when she saw Jade walk in. She wasn’t in her school uniform now and instead, she wore a pair of blue mom jeans, a grey oversized jumper with a blue puffer jacket and white converses. She seemed to hold something in her hand as she walked in.

“Hello, Jade.” Sarah Jane smiled as she stood, “You alright?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to give you this. I never got the chance to when we came out of the school. You know what mum’s like.” Jade laughed before handing over Sky’s sonic bracelet.

“Oh thank you. I didn’t even know she took it off.” Sarah Jane said.

“I think she wanted to let it charge before destroying that machine.” Jade explained, “How’s Sky? Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s just sleeping now. She’ll be okay once she gets some rest.” Sarah Jane replied as Jade nodded, “What about you? Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No, no. I’m okay. My mum is convinced I got hypnotised and I’m not telling her.” Jade laughed, “It was mad though. Like I’ve met aliens but they were… ugly.”

“Yes.” Sarah Jane laughed, “Zygons aren’t very pleasant.”

“Have you met them before?” Jade asked, “You and John knew them straight away.”

“I’ve met them once before. I think John’s probably met them more but I met them when we went to Tulloch Moor quite a few years ago.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Oh, yeah, that’s near Loch Ness, isn’t it?” Jade then laughed, “Did you see Nessie?” Sarah Jane wore a smirk as Jade’s face dropped, “You’re winding me up now. You didn’t see her really.”

Sarah Jane laughed before walking over to the attic door and opening it.

“John!” She shouted, “Put the kettle on!”


	10. Old and New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane has to go to the British Museum and John is tagging along, much to her annoyance.

“John! Are you ready?” Sarah Jane called as she looked in the mirror. There was silence, “John!”

“Coming!” John came down the stairs as he did up his blazer, “Oh, let me get a banana.”

“Come on.” Sarah Jane groaned, “We’re going to be late.”

“It’s only half elev… Sarah Jane Smith, why are there pears in this fruit bowl?” John shouted from the kitchen in disgust.

“Sky likes them.” Sarah Jane replied as she shook her head.

“We might have to throw the whole child away. I absolutely hate pears. Disgusting fruit.” John shook his head as he left the kitchen, “What’s wrong?”

“You’re taking forever, that’s what! Let’s go.” Sarah Jane huffed.

“Alright, alright. Not like you to be in a rush.” John walked towards the door.

“I usually don’t have my husband slowing me down.” Sarah Jane put her bag over shoulder.

“But isn’t he gorgeous?” John turned back to her with a slightly manic grin, “Do you not think?”

“Very but he’s also very annoying at times.” Sarah Jane crossed her arms.

“Am I really?” John suddenly pouted.

“Move.” Sarah Jane pushed him playfully, “We’re going to miss the train.”

“Allons-y!” John laughed as Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

The two headed out and walked to the tube station. Sarah Jane was planning to go to the British Museum to see a new exhibition and do some research for a story she was doing. Sky was going to Jade’s house for the day so John decided he wanted to tag along. Sarah Jane knew this wasn’t going to go well. He always did get over excited in museums. 

“Where shall we start then? Ancient Greece? Rome? The Stone Age? Medieval times?” John asked as he looked at the free map he got at the door.

“Well, I need to go to the Egyptian bit to see the new piece.” Sarah Jane said as she took out her notepad and pen, “Best to go there first.”

“What is it you’re writing about again?”

“They’ve got Tutankhamen’s sarcophagus here.”

“Really? Oh how exciting! You know, no matter how many times I see it, it’s still so brilliant! I even met him once, lovely guy. Oh, gift shop! Can we please go to the gift shop when we’re done?”

“Yes.”

“And we’ll need to go into the Roman bit. I probably should check something.”

“What do you need to check?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“Oh, you know. Just something.” John nodded.

“Don’t tell me. Did you end up becoming the Emperor at one point?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No. I was close though.” John grinned. Sarah Jane groaned, “But it wasn’t me, another body.”

“Who was it then?” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

“Teeth and curls.” John replied.

“Why does that not surprise me?” Sarah Jane laughed, “How did that happen then?”

“It’s a funny story actually.” John began his story as the couple headed to the Egyptian part of the museum.

They finally reached the Egyptian room and there was a large group of people around the main exhibit. Sarah Jane and John made their way in through the crowd until they found a good spot. The famous sarcophagus was in a glass case as a tour guide talked to the crowd. Sarah Jane listened intently as John yawned. She nudged his stomach gently, John grunting.

“I’ve heard it a million times. I was there!” John whispered.

“It’s still no reason to be rude.” Sarah Jane replied. They listened to the tour guide as he began talking about ‘The Curse of the Pharaohs’ and explained how many died after messing with the mummified bodies of the Pharaohs, “Do you think it’s real? The curse?”

“Of course it is. You wouldn’t want anyone disturbing your afterlife, would you?”

“I don’t know if I believe in an afterlife. I probably shouldn’t say that in front of him.”

“I wouldn’t be so sceptical, Sarah. Who knows what happens when we die.”

A few people in the group left the room so there was more space for them. Sarah Jane moved closer to the sarcophagus as she studied it. John followed after her as he watched her. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched the wonderment spread across her face. He never got tired of that look, it was so beautiful to him. It reminded him of when it was just him and her in the TARDIS together.

“It really is beautiful. More beautiful in the flesh.” Sarah Jane finally said softly.

“Yes. Yes, it is.” John nodded.

“Shall we go to the Roman room? Find whatever you wanted to check up on?” Sarah Jane turned to look at him.

“Yeah.” John nodded, “Let’s go.”

Sarah Jane took his hand as the two left the Egyptian room. The couple walked through the museum as John kept popping in and out of other rooms, many different things catching his eye. Sarah Jane would pull him out of the rooms by his arm as they finally reached the Roman room. John rushed into the Roman room, looking around the various artifacts and art. Sarah Jane followed him with her arms crossed as she quietly admired the pieces. 

“Oh. Oh no. That’s not good. That’s not good at all.” Sarah Jane heard from behind her.

“What is it?” Sarah Jane walked up to him.

“Look. That pot there. I’m right on it. Well, Teeth and Curls is.” John pointed at a small clay pot.

“Where?” Sarah Jane squinted her eyes but she then spotted him. The design of ‘Teeth and Curls’ had him in a toga and he was in between two other men, “Oh I can see it. Is he holding a scroll?”

“Yeah, we were given a scroll when posing for the artist.”

“And what were you doing in Rome again?”

“I was a senator.”

“For who?”

“Emperor Nero. Oh, don’t look at me like that! I know what he was like. I was going through a hard time. I had just left you in South Croy…”

“Aberdeen.”

“Aberdeen. But I was. I didn’t stay for very long though. Too busy to be a senator to probably the most evil Roman emperor. At least I wasn’t with Caligula.”

“You probably would have got on with him better. I almost thought you were the one who convinced him to declare war on the sea when you told me you had been in Ancient Rome.”

“I was there when he did that but that wasn’t my fault. I was just visiting.”

“In which body?”

“The one after the celery guy. Colourful clothes, curly hair, very grumpy? Oh you didn’t meet him, did you?”

“No.”

“Probably a good thing. He was always in a bad mood. It must have been an age thing.”

The couple were aware of voices in the room but it wasn’t until the very familiar voice behind them entered the room that they turned.

“I need to check, Clara! I was going through quite a hard time, you know.” The tall man in the brown coat and blue bow tie explained.

“Yes, but that doesn’t explain why you became a senator for Nero?” The small brunette woman who followed after him asked, “I don’t understand how that just happens.”

“Believe me, it does ‘just happen’. I can’t explain how but…” He was cut off when he noticed Sarah Jane and John, “Oh. Oh, you two. You’re here to check too, aren’t you?”

“Hello, Doctor.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Hello, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor hugged her tightly as they spun around a little. He then broke off the hug as he shook John’s hand. Clara watched the whole time, slightly confused. She knew John’s face. He was the incarnation before the Doctor’s current body. They had met him not too long ago, maybe around a couple of weeks ago, “Oh, it’s good to see you again, Sandshoes!”

“And you, Bow Tie.” John flicked the bow tie, “You’ve changed your clothes. You look more sophisticated. For once!”

“Yes, I thought I would give myself a change.” The Doctor spun on the spot as he showed off his clothes, “Big of you to comment on sophistication. Sandshoes.”

“They’re very smart, thank you.” John showed off his Converses.

“Yeah, yeah.” The Doctor nodded before turning back to Clara. He put his arm around her as he brought her forward, “This is Clara. Clara, this is Sarah Jane and this is John. John is a duplicate of me, you know the one we met not long ago but human. It’s a long story. It involves a hand.”

“This one to be precise.” John waved to Clara and the Doctor.

“Yes.” The Doctor laughed.

“Nice to meet you, Clara.” Sarah Jane held out her hand.

“Nice to meet you too. Very nice.” Clara shook her hand, giggling a little nervously before shaking John’s hand.

“You know, you do look familiar.” John said before he looked at the Doctor.

“Clara basically went into our timestream and showed up at different points in each of our lives.” The Doctor explained, “We also met you not long ago with Zygons and Queen Elizabeth I. You were getting married to her. You probably won’t remember much because obviously the crossing of our own time streams.”

Sarah Jane instantly looked up at John with a frown. He started to laugh nervously.

“Oh, that explains a lot. Not the Queen Elizabeth thing, although…” John said as he recounted events of his life as the Doctor. He then noticed Sarah Jane who was still looking at him with a death stare. He decided to change the subject, “So, you’re here to look for what Teeth and Curls left behind?”

“Yes. I suddenly remembered that we were a senator for Emperor Nero.” The Doctor stepped forward with his hands clasped behind his back as they stepped over to the glass case.

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as she looked over to Clara. She smiled as Clara stepped forward.

“Did you used to travel with the Doctor?” Clara asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I did. Many years ago.” Sarah Jane nodded, “In fact with the body that’s on that pot.”

“Oh, that was the one with the long scarf, wasn’t it?” Clara stood on her tiptoes as she looked over the two men’s shoulders.

“Yeah. Him and the dandy.” 

“Oh, um, frilly shirt!”

“Yes.” The two women laughed.

“Did you travel with John too? When he was the Doctor I mean.”

“Not really. I met the Doctor again when he was in that body when I was doing a story at a school not far from here. Turns out there were big bat people there but John, he was, I guess, grown from the Doctor’s hand that had been cut off just after he had regenerated. He went to the parallel universe and I did meet the Doctor a couple of times after that but then he regenerated and John came back from the parallel universe. Then we got married.”

“Oh wow.”

“A lot of history you could say.”

“Definitely. So were you and the Doctor...”

“No. No, um, not until John came back.”

Before they could continue, the Doctor had turned around to them. He was slightly bent over to Sarah Jane and Clara’s heights as he looked at the two women. They both frowned as they looked at him. He had put on a pair of round glasses as he looked at them before taking the glasses off.

“What are you doing?” Clara asked with a laugh.

“You two are very similar.” The Doctor said as he studied their faces, “Very alike, similar hair, similar height, similar clothes. Can be very bad tempered at times, definitely saved worlds more than once.”

“We’re not related if that’s what you’re thinking.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Maybe not by family. But maybe you are the same pers…”

“Do you think I would be here when Clara is not in your timestream anymore?” 

He paused for a moment.

“Good point.” The Doctor nodded, “Why did I not think of that?”

“Because you aren’t always the best at connecting the dots straight away.” Sarah Jane laughed before tapping the Doctor’s shoulder and walking over to John. The Doctor watched Sarah Jane as she walked over to John, her hand resting on his back as they talked quietly.

“So, Sarah Jane.” Clara put her hands behind her back.

“What about her?” The Doctor asked.

“Oh come on. She’s married to a duplicate of you. That must say something.” Clara replied.

“That Sandshoes was a bit of a womaniser, yes.”

“Doctor, she travelled with you before that. Those two getting married must mean something to you. You said you were going through a hard time when you were in that body and she travelled with him. Was it after she left?”

The Doctor didn’t say anything for a moment as he watched Sarah Jane and John talk. Finally, he looked at Clara. She looked up at him, her brow raised.

“Back then, Gallifrey didn’t allow humans to come to the planet. I had made that mistake before and it went horribly. When I got a call from them, I knew I had to take her home.” The Doctor explained, “I wasn’t going to risk her.”

“She’s the one that got away then?” Clara asked.

“A friend once said that too. But no. No she wasn’t. What happened between her and John is different from our relationship.” The Doctor replied.

“But it’s still a little strange, do you not think? You had to have some sort of feelings for her?” Clara asked.

Almost on cue, alarms started to go off in the museum. They all looked around themselves, frowning. There were voices in the halls as people started to leave the room. Sarah Jane and John walked over to the Doctor and Clara.

“What’s happened?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I don’t know.” The Doctor shook his head, “Maybe something’s been stolen.”

“Like what?” Clara asked.

“This is a museum, Clara. Everything’s of great value here.” The Doctor looked at her.

“Shh.” Sarah Jane hushed him as she hit chest gently, “Can you hear anything?”

“Just people leaving.” John replied.

“Maybe we should go too. We don’t know what’s happened.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

“Or we could take a look around. We could maybe help.” The Doctor suggested.

“Yeah, we should investigate.” John nodded before turning to Sarah Jane and noticing her pout. John hit her shoulder playfully, “Come on, Sarah. You’re an investigative journalist, you love this.”

“John, we don’t know what’s going on. It could be something that we can’t deal with.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Like what? What can we not deal with?” John asked.

“I don’t know. I just know that if it isn’t aliens, we’re best to just go.” Sarah Jane replied.

At that point (again, almost on cue), they heard a scream from the hall. They all looked at each other before running out of the room. The four ran down the hall until they reached a woman who lay on the floor. She seemed to be unconscious as Clara crouched down next to her, pressing her hand against the woman’s forehead to feel her temperature. Both John and the Doctor scanned the woman before looking at their sonics whilst Sarah Jane kept a lookout, standing in between the two men.

“She’s been giving some sort of poison dart. To put her to sleep.” John read from his sonic screwdriver.

“She’ll be alright though, won’t she?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Oh, she’ll be fine.” The Doctor replied, “I think she’ll probably forget what happened just before that.” They noticed from the corner of their eye Clara spotting the small poison dart. Her hand moved towards the woman’s exposed neck, about to take it out, “Clara, no! Don’t touch it. It could knock you out too.”

“We need to get it out of her.” Clara replied as she moved her hand again.

“We’ll find a way but we need some sort of protection.” John stopped her, “Gloves or something. You haven’t got gloves on you, do you?”

“Not this time.” The Doctor shook his head, “That really should be the essentials, shouldn’t it?”

“Yes, definitely. We handle too much that can harm us. We should start carrying around tissues too.” John pointed.

“Oh yes! But there is one thing we always remember.” The Doctor replied as he went into his pocket.

“Yes. Yes, that one, very special thing.” John’s hand edged towards his pockets. The two men’s hands then dove into their pockets as they pulled out the small white paper bag of jelly sweets. They both exclaimed; “Jellybabies!”

“Can we focus please?” Sarah Jane asked. The two men immediately backed down, “We need to find somewhere where she can be safe. Or someone nearby.”

“I can take her outside.” John offered.

“Are you sure?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah. The doors aren’t far from here.” John said.

“I don’t want to leave you on your own.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I’ll be okay. I’ll be right back.” John reassured her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

Sarah Jane leaned in and kissed his lips softly. Her hands went to his waist as they held each other for a moment. The Doctor and Clara watched on. Clara noticed the Doctor look away and rub his face as he looked at the ground. Clara knew there was more than met the eye and whether the Doctor was going to explain fully or not, she knew that he loved her more than he let on. Like she said before, the one that got away or more, the one he let go. When Sarah Jane and John broke off the kiss, they looked at one another for a moment. John cupped her face. He stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. They then broke off the embrace as John picked up the unconscious woman.

“Be careful.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“I will. I’ll be right behind you.” John replied.

Sarah Jane nodded before John headed to the museum foyer. She watched him as he walked away, hoping he would be alright. Clara stood from the ground as she walked over to the Doctor who was looking at Sarah Jane.

“Right,” The Doctor clapped his hands, “Let’s get going.”

Sarah Jane nodded again. The Doctor led the way, Sarah Jane and Clara walking on either side of him. Sarah Jane looked back now and again, waiting for John to come up behind them.

“Maybe we should split up.” Clara suggested, “This place is huge.”

“I don’t know, Clara. We’re best to stick together. At least for the moment.” The Doctor replied. He pointed to one of the rooms, “Go in here. There could be something.”

They walked into the room, now looking around the area. The three walked around slowly as they surveyed what was around them. Sarah Jane seemed a little distant as she looked at some of the museum pieces. She wanted to make sure she knew all of her surroundings. Clara watched her as she went over to the Doctor.

“You definitely have some explaining to do.” Clara whispered.

“Explaining? Explain what? What do I have to explain?” The Doctor replied.

“You and Sarah Jane. I saw you watching them when they kissed.” Clara said, “Believe me, I know what it’s like to watch someone you love with someone else. Not so much with someone who was your past self but…”

“I don’t know why you keep going on about this. Honestly it’s that nose of yours, you just like to know everything.” The Doctor turned to her.

“Well, what do you expect? You are a man of mystery. I know I don’t really remember the timestream but there are things and faces that are familiar but there is suddenly a woman we’ve met that used to travel with you and is married to a duplicate of the body before this one and I don’t recognise her and you haven’t talked about her.” Clara put her hands on her hips, “I feel like we all need some sort of closure. I don’t blame her if you still love her. She’s beautiful.”

The Doctor frowned when he looked at her. Clara looked at him as he raised his brows. Clara smirked before she shrugged.

“She is. Definitely my type.”

“Really? I thought you liked Porridge.”

“Oh no. I couldn’t be an empress. You’re changing the subject! Tell me who she is to you.”

“It’s not really the time. I’m also a married man so it wouldn’t really be wise.”

“River’s dead.”

“Not all the time.”

“Just tell me, Doctor. I wouldn’t keep secrets from you.”

The Doctor looked at Clara for a moment. He sighed before standing up straight. He looked back at Sarah Jane before back at Clara.

“It wasn’t meant to be. Not with me or any of the others. I guess it was always him, things kept bringing them together. That’s all I can say.” The Doctor shrugged. He then smiled as he straightened his bow tie, “I won’t be a moment.”

Clara watched as The Doctor walked over to Sarah Jane. She had her back to them as she looked around the room. She paced a little, clearly worried about John. The Doctor caught her eye when he walked up to her, a small smile on his lips.

“I heard you having a bit of a Rose moment over there.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Not quite.” The Doctor laughed, “More like a ‘Clara being very nosey’ moment.”

Sarah Jane giggled.

“When did she start travelling with you then? Can't be too long ago?” She asked.

“Oh, at the start of the year. I met different versions of her and I tried to figure out why she kept showing up. And then she jumped into the timestream and it made sense.” The Doctor explained.

“She’s nice. I like her.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Yeah, um, she likes you too.” The Doctor itched his head nervously. He then cleared his throat, “How’s the kids?”

“They’re good. All good. Sky’s actually out at her friend’s but she would have been here if we knew you were going to show up.” Sarah Jane smiled at him.

“I really should give you more notice.”

“Yes. Doctor?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened with Amy and Rory?”

The Doctor looked at her. He hadn’t fully recovered from losing them. It was still so fresh in his mind. It was one of those wounds he didn’t think would ever heal. At least not in this body.

“I met her once. When she was older. But she only went by Amelia Williams and obviously I didn’t know her then but she knew I would meet her. She was a journalist I looked up to and when she wrote her books, I ended up interviewing her.” Sarah Jane explained, “She was lovely and so welcoming and then suddenly, she brought up you.” That made the Doctor look at Sarah Jane again. He could see the tears bubbling in Sarah Jane’s eyes though she smiled, “I couldn’t believe it when she mentioned you. That was around the time when I started to think you were dead but she reassured me you weren’t. She told me to keep looking, keep searching.”

“What about Rory?” The Doctor asked.

“She only ever said ‘my husband’. I wasn’t sure if he had passed away at that point. That time was a bit of a blur for me but she sticks out so clearly in my mind. I remember how beautiful she was. Her long ginger hair, the greys in it. She was stylish.” The two laughed, “She spoke so fondly of you. She told me about Weeping Angels. I’ve never heard of them, I’ve never researched them either. Always an alien that I’ve put on the back burner. She just said that the Weeping Angel brought her ‘here’. What did she mean?”

“Weeping Angels send people back in time once they touch them. It doesn’t really matter where or when but that’s what they do. They just appear as statues but once you turn your back, they move. We were in Manhattan with River and they had a bit of an infestation and it took them. The angel took them. Amy knew to go after Rory and that’s what she did.” The Doctor’s eyes too started to bubble with tears. He bit his lip, “She was the first face this face saw. Like you were with ‘Teeth and Curls’.”

Sarah Jane laughed.

“She called you her ‘raggedy man’. That’s what made us talk about you. She showed me the manuscript for her new book at the time. ‘Melody Malone’. It was beautiful.” Sarah Jane replied before she started to laugh, “When she told me about you, my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t believe it. She must have thought I was hysterical when I started asking questions about how you were and if you were alright. I thought she was a bit of a Mystic Meg when she told me I would see you again. I should have believed her.”

“I can’t blame you for not believing.” The Doctor said softly.

Sarah Jane looked down at the ground for a moment before slipping her hand into his. His hand was cold and it was surprisingly comforting. She looked back up at him, a small smile as she squeezed his hand. She rested her head on his shoulder, the Doctor resting his head on top of hers. Clara watched them from the doorway. She heard briefly that they were talking about someone they knew. It was clear something bad had happened to them but she didn’t know what. Clara didn’t want to pry. Not right now.

They all turned when they heard footsteps approaching and were relieved to see it was John. Sarah Jane dropped the Doctor’s hand as she went over to John.

“Is she alright?” Sarah Jane asked as she approached.

“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s with paramedics.” John nodded, “I think there are more people coming out so we can stay here for now. The paramedics are speculating what happened.”

“What are they saying?” The Doctor stepped forward.

“Apparently, Tutankhamen has been stolen.” John explained, “They don’t know how but apparently it just disappeared. The glass case wasn’t smashed or anything.”

“This has to be aliens.” Clara said.

“But who would steal the sarcophagus of the most famous Pharaoh?” The Doctor asked, “If it were aliens, what would be their motive?”

“Money.” Sarah Jane replied, “We should scan the Egyptian room. There could be something left behind.”

“Let’s go.” John took her hand as they all left for the Egyptian room.

When they did reach the Egyptian room, they were surprised to find no one guarding the room. They walked into the room slowly as they noticed the large glass case in front of them and right enough, it was empty. They all frowned, wondering how the hell did they get that sarcophagus out of that case without breaking it. Sarah Jane opened up her watch as she started to scan the area. She approached the glass case as the watch beeped louder and louder. When she stood next to it, the beeping on her watch was insistent. John immediately rushed over to her to look at the readings on her watch.

“Teleportation energy.” John said as the Doctor also stepped forward and scanned the glass case, “But where to?”

There was suddenly a laugh in the hall. They all turned when they heard it. John and the Doctor walked slowly out of the room as Clara and Sarah Jane walked around the glass case. The two women stood at the door but couldn’t see John and the Doctor. Not until they came running down the hall. John was in the lead as he took Sarah Jane’s hand, pulling her out into the hall as he dragged her down the hall. The Doctor was behind them as Clara ran out to him. They all ran down the hall, both women very confused.

“What was it?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Slitheen. Bloody Slitheen!” John replied.

Sarah Jane looked over her shoulder. As they started to turn the corner, the large green alien approached them. Her eyes widened.

“Not again!” Sarah Jane huffed.

“What is that?!” Clara looked over her shoulder.

“Slitheen. Big green menaces that can wear bodies as disguises. They’re from Raxacoricofallaportius.” The Doctor explained.

“Raxa-what?!” Clara frowned.

They continued running but Sarah Jane and John were stopped by another Slitheen standing in front of them. They went to run back but the other Slitheen was approaching. They weren’t near any rooms they couldn’t run into. 

“We have you now.” One of the Slitheen stepped closer.

“What do we do?” Clara asked quietly.

“Umm, I’m not so sure.” The Doctor replied, “We’re a little stuck.”

“Great.” Clara huffed.

“Before you kill us,” John began, “Why are you here? You were clearly the ones who stole Tutankhamun so just tell us. Why?”

“Profit. You should know that.” The Slitheen facing him approached slowly, “Think of the money we would make from the most famous mummy on Earth. We could be billionaires.” 

“He won’t like that.” The Doctor shook his head.

“We don’t believe in curses, Doctor. Only you.” The other Slitheen said, “But soon that will be gone too. Gone very soon. Around about…,” They started to lift their claws, “Now!”

“Run!”

The four moved quickly and managed to get away before the Slitheen could attack them. They all ran down the hall. They all ran into one of the rooms. Sarah Jane stood at the door, on the lookout.

“What do we do?” Clara asked as she panicked, “What do we do?”

“We need to focus.” The Doctor paced, “We need to find out where the sarcophagus is.”

“But how are we going to get past the Slitheen?” Clara asked.

“It’s times like this where I think we should carry vinegar around, Sarah.” John said. He looked around the room as he tried to find some sort of clue to what the Slitheen would have done with Tutankhamen.

“We need to get back to the Egyptian room.” The Doctor suggested. 

“There’s no way. We can’t get past them.” Sarah Jane replied, “We need a distraction.”

There was silence for a moment. Time went on for a couple of minutes as they tried to figure what to do. The Doctor and John then looked at each other with big grins.

“What?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Oh-ho-ho, this will be good!” John nodded.

“What will?” Clara asked, aware of Sarah Jane walking over to her. The two women subconsciously crossed their arms at the same time.

“Nothing will beat this. Oh we are good!” The Doctor grinned.

“Doctor!” Clara shouted.

“John!” Sarah Jane shouted at the same time.

“What?” The Doctor and John asked in unison as they looked at the two women.

“What are we going to do?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Here’s the plan.” The Doctor walked over to them.

He explained what they were going to do and soon they were on their way. The Doctor and John had decided that the best way was to distract the Slitheen the best they could. They could run through the corridors, using their sonics to distract them and even throw them off so they would not know exactly where they were going. They made a run for it, the Doctor leading and John behind with Sarah Jane and Clara between them. They all used their sonics to find ways to distract the Slitheen, whether that be setting off alarms or activating doors. They would rotate as they moved, switching between different directions. Clara would sometimes take cover behind Sarah Jane when they would turn in the direction of one of the Slitheen chasing them. Finally, they got to the Egyptian room, Clara and John shutting the doors behind them.

“That won’t hold them, will it?” Clara asked.

“Doubt it.” John shook his head before running over to the glass case where Sarah Jane and the Doctor stood, “Always worth a try though!”

“I think we’ll be able to get Tutankhamen back if we use our sonics. We can reverse the teleportation energy and bring it back.” The Doctor explained as he scanned the glass case.

“You think it will work?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Should do. I don’t see why it wouldn’t.” The Doctor replied before standing behind her and helping her position her sonic lipstick at the glass case, “Hold it like this. You have to keep it aimed at the case.”

“And this will create a sort of field around it, yes?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Hopefully. John?” The Doctor turned as he pointed his sonic screwdriver at the glass case, “You stand there.”

“What shall I do?” Clara asked as John went to stand next to the glass case.

“Just stand back.” The Doctor replied.

Clara nodded as she noticed cleaning up liquid near the door. It must have been left over by a cleaner when the museum evacuated. She picked it up as she remembered what John had said about vinegar. She didn’t know a lot about the Slitheen, hardly anything at all, but she knew the vinegar had to be significant and the cleaning up liquid could be a good substitute. 

“Right,” The Doctor said, “Start… now!”

The three started to activate their sonics. There was a bond created by the sonic devices, the sarcophagus slowly fading in and out of the glass case. The Sltheen started to bang on the doors but the Doctor, John and Sarah Jane tried to focus the best they could on returning the sarcophagus. The Slitheen continued to bang on the door before finally getting into the room. The three focused on the sarcophagus which became clearer and clearer in the glass case. They did turn their heads when the Slitheen burst in.

“Now, we will kill you. Once and for all!” The Slitheen on the left said as they lifted up their claws and approached them quickly.

Clara knew she had to act quickly to protect her friends. She unscrewed the bottle of the cleaning spray and ran up to the Slitheen. She threw the liquid over them as she stepped back slowly. The Slitheen started to cry out in pain and look down at their bodies, stepping back. The Doctor, John and Sarah Jane had managed to bring back Tutankhamen in time when they turned to look at the Slitheen.

“Clara,” The Doctor began, “What was in that bottle?”

“Bleach.” Clara looked at the ingredients on the bottle.

“Oh goody.” The Doctor rolled his eyes. 

They didn’t have enough time as the Slitheen both exploded on them. The four stood in silence for a moment, totally drenched in the Slitheen guts as they tried to process what just happened. 

“Well, at least we got Tutankhamen back.” John said quietly.

They all ran to the TARDIS which had landed in a storage room and soon left the museum. They all went for showers and got fresh new clothes from the TARDIS wardrobe. The Doctor was ready first, fiddling in the console room as he flicked different switches and buttons. He was aware of John entering the console room as he looked around himself.

“You’ve redecorated again.” John stuffed his hands into his pocket.

“Yes.” The Doctor grinned, hoping he was going to get a better reaction than he did last time.

“I don’t like it.” John shook his head as he scrunched up his face.

“Oh you don’t like anything.” The Doctor huffed.

John couldn’t help but laugh. He walked over as he sat on the steps. He looked up, admiring the different names of his friends in Gallifreyan writing about the console. He smiled when he noticed Sarah Jane’s name. He was so happy both the TARDIS and the Doctor had not forgotten her. The Doctor noticed him looking up at the names and noticed that the names facing him were now onto Rose. He always wondered why John had come back to this universe. He knew of course it was for Sarah Jane but there had to be more. What was his reason for leaving Rose? 

“What happened?” The Doctor finally asked, “In Pete’s world I mean. Why did you leave?”

John should have known he was going to ask that. He didn’t the last time they had met. They didn’t get a moment together long enough. But here they were and now the Doctor was asking the big questions.

“It wasn’t right.” John sighed, “It wasn’t right for either of us.”

“What happened?” The Doctor asked.

“The day you and Donna left, we went to a hotel and then Pete managed to come get us so we could go home. It was like nothing had ever happened. Me and Rose, we were getting on so well and Jackie was being her usual self. It was great. On the way home, Rose explained how she was at Torchwood and what was happening there and I thought ‘I can handle this. Torchwood? A piece of cake!’ I met all of the parallel universe versions of our friends, they even had Donna and she was just how she had been before. It was perfect. The most perfect life you could imagine. Me and Rose, finally together, fighting aliens and growing our own TARDIS. What more could we want?” John explained. Sarah Jane had just come from the TARDIS wardrobe in new clothes as she dried her hair with the towel. She could hear voices from the console and knew it was John and the Doctor. She was about to join them when she heard what John was telling the Doctor. Those words, how he described his life with Rose. He had never explained it like that to her. He had never told her that it was like that. The way his voice sounded, it was like he preferred that life to the one he had now with her. Sarah Jane could feel the tears bubbling in her eyes and a sob building in her throat. She couldn’t bear to hear anymore. She had to go. She quickly walked back down the corridor she had just been down, telling Clara she was just going to the toilet in the passing when she asked if she was okay. Clara could tell there was something not quite right with Sarah Jane. She couldn’t place her finger on it. She didn’t want to pry and instead, headed to the console. She stood where Sarah Jane had not long stood, listening to John and the Doctor’s conversation, “I became a normal human being, I got a job, I had a proper life. Dr. Smith by day, alien hunter by night. Me and Rose almost got engaged at one point. That’s when I realised. When I truly realised, I couldn’t be there anymore.”

“Why?”

“You remember how much Rose helped us after the Time War? We were so different back then. And you said, I was you back then and that she could help me. Rose Tyler could help me the same way she did all those years ago. But she wasn’t the same. She was tougher, hardened, not in a bad way but not in the way I expected. Torchwood probably didn’t help either. It was all guns and leather and that’s not who we are, that’s not who I am. Rose was just as hardened and troubled as each other. Everything was full of blood and war and destruction, we were too.”

“Did she try to help you?”

“She did, We both did, oh believe me, we tried so hard but Rose in a sense had moved on like I had. We had been without each other for so long that we were totally different people. It turns out you can’t ask a twenty-something year old girl to be your duplicate’s therapist and hope she’ll be happy to have him as her boyfriend too.” John replied. The Doctor could feel that dig deep. He knew he hadn’t exactly been fair to him, “There was also Mary Jane.”

“Mary Jane?” The Doctor lifted his head with a frown. He now started to wonder if John had cheated on Rose. In a sense, it wouldn’t have surprised him. He had just been made into a human, he was still discovering that life and wanted to know the thrills of that life. That could have been one of them.

“She was Sarah but in Pete’s world. She worked at Torchwood and was married with two kids to a guy called Peter Dalton.”

“Oh yeah. I know the name. You didn’t…”

“No, no, of course not. But she made me miss her. She made me miss Sarah Jane. I maybe would have gone to her if she wasn’t married but… it wasn’t the same. She wasn’t the same. She wasn’t my Sarah Jane and neither was Rose. When Rose and I started to fall apart, I realised I wasn’t in love with her. It was Sarah Jane. It always had been. Right from the very start. But I had accepted that in reality, I was never going to get back to her. Not unless one day, the walls of the universe magically started to collapse. Until your ‘crack in the wall’ appeared. I guess I should thank you for that.”

“More Amy you should be thanking but you definitely took your chance quickly.”

“Yes. With a bit of help too.”

“From who?”

“From Rose. They had that machine that monitored the walls of the universe and they had collapsed. She told me to go. She almost made me in fact. Gave me a dimension jump and sent me on my way.”

“And then you arrived at Bannerman Road.”  
“Well. Not quite. More Norway. Bloody Bad Wolf Bay!” John and the Doctor laughed, “But I did make it in the end, to Bannerman Road. Back to her.”

“I guess it was always going to happen, wasn’t it?” The Doctor raised a brow with a smirk, “We couldn’t keep away.”

“Yeah, we couldn’t. Remember how we nearly forgot about Rose at the school.” John started to laugh.

“Yeah.” The Doctor nodded as he laughed. He then lifted his head up, “Right, you can come out now, Clara, we know you’ve been listening.”

“Sorry.” Clara said softly as she walked up the steps, her hands behind her back. 

“Have you seen Sarah at all?” John asked.

“Uh yeah, she said she was going to the toilet.” Clara replied before itching the back of her head, “She did look a little upset though.”

“She did?” John asked to which Clara nodded. He stood up and walked down the steps, “I’ll go find her. I know where she’ll be.”

John walked through the corridors of the TARDIS as he looked at the different doors and looked into different rooms. He had gone past the library, the swimming pool, and even the boot cupboard but she wasn’t there. He knew that. John finally reached her bedroom and he noticed the door was closed. There was a little red scarf tied on the door handle and it was clear the room was occupied. John knew that meant she wanted to be alone, she used to do it all the time when they were younger. Most of the time, it was just her going into a strop or she wanted to focus on her articles she had been given whenever they were back on Earth but sometimes it was more than that but he never asked. It wasn’t his place to pry.

“Sarah?” John knocked on the door, “Sarah, are you in here?”

There was silence. John frowned. Clara had said she looked upset but John could imagine why. He knocked again.

“Sarah Jane, are you alright?” John asked. He looked down the handle, knowing it wasn’t right to let himself in but he had to make sure she was okay, “Right, I’m coming in.”

John opened the door slowly as he stepped in. He felt the nostalgia hit him almost like a slap in his face. He couldn’t help but look around the room with a little smile but that soon it dropped when he spotted Sarah Jane. She lay on her bed, her back to him with her slightly damp curls draped over the pillow. Her towel had been chucked over the armchair in the corner and he knew there had to be something wrong because she would have hung it up. John closed the door behind him, walking slowly towards the bed.

“Sarah?” John said softly.

“Go away.” Sarah Jane replied. Though John couldn’t see her face, he could tell she was not happy at all.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, “You weren’t like this earlier. Has something happened?”

“What do you think?” Sarah Jane asked, “Or how about you think of what you’ve just been talking about to your new best friend.”

“What do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” John shook his head. He wasn’t really even sure what she meant.

“Oh, come on, John. Don’t play dumb.” Sarah Jane sat up as she finally looked up at him. She wore a very angry expression across her face, her mouth tight and a little wrinkled. His heart immediately dropped, wondering what had he done, “I heard everything.”

Finally, the penny dropped. John realised Sarah Jane had overheard him and the Doctor talking about Rose. She clearly had only heard the start because she wouldn’t have been like this if she was there the whole time.

“Sarah.” He began as she got up and walked over to the armchair and picked up her towel, “Sarah, you didn’t hear everything.”

“Oh, I did. I definitely heard everything I needed to hear. How perfect your life was and how you were growing a TARDIS and you were at Torchwood.” Sarah Jane replied with anger bubbling in her chest, “It sounded positively wonderful!”

“It wasn’t like that. I was telling him what happened after he left. I told him everything, not just that. I told him the truth that me and Rose weren’t meant to be, that I should be back in this universe,” John walked away from the bed slightly, “That I should be with you. No one else.”

“Yeah and I bet you told him that you were also now the world’s leading scientist and a talk show host.” Sarah Jane huffed.

“He asked what happened between me and Rose and I told him that his great plan of dumping me there and hoping I wouldn’t go too insane didn’t work. I told him that Rose didn’t help me like she did with him and that all I wanted was to be with you. You, not a single soul else, the love of my life.” John replied, “I even told him that Rose helped me get to you. We both said it had always been you.” John sighed softly as he looked at her. There was no point in arguing. It wasn’t worth it, “Look, I know you worry that I want to go back but I don’t. Our life is the best thing I have ever experienced, nevermind everything I saw as him. Being with you and the kids, I love it. I love every second. And I love you. I love you so deeply.”

Sarah Jane looked at the ground for a moment as she bit her lip. She tried to find the right words but she was distracted by her eyes beginning to sting. She looked up at him.

“I’ve never heard you explain it all like that. It was like… It was like you wanted to be back there.” Sarah Jane said softly, “I don’t understand.”

“I told him that way because I wanted him to realise it wasn’t perfect. And that it never was going to be.” John replied, “Unlike us.”

“We’re far from perfect.” Sarah Jane scoffed as she fiddled with her towel.

“Yes but our life is perfect and I can’t think of anything better than being with you always.” John replied. Sarah Jane bowed her head down again and John wasn’t sure what she was thinking, “I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I should have just explained what happened and…”

“No.” Sarah Jane shook her head as she put the towel back down on the armchair, “Don’t apologise. It was my fault. If I’m going to listen to a conversation, I should listen to it the whole way through.”

John smiled a small smile as he held out his hand to her. Sarah Jane looked at him as she slowly took his hand. He guided her over to the bed slowly as the two sat down. John put his arm around Sarah Jane as she cuddled in, her hand taking his other hand that rested on his lap. John kissed her brow as he pushed her hair out of her face. Sarah Jane looked up at him as he smiled, his fingers going through her curls. He then rested his hand on the base of her neck as he brought her lips to his. They broke off the kiss quickly as Sarah Jane finally smiled at him.

“Tell me you love me.” Sarah Jane said as she cuddled into him, her head resting on his shoulder, “Just one more time.”

John chuckled a little. He then moved his mouth close to her ear.

“I love you.” John said softly.

Sarah Jane turned her head, smiling up at him again. John smiled back, kissing the side of her head softly. They sat for a moment as they both revelled in the comforting warmth of each other’s arms.

“Do you miss it?” Sarah Jane asked suddenly.

“I just told you…” John went to reassure her but she cut him off.

“No, I don’t mean that. I mean all of this. Travelling through time and space, the TARDIS, meeting different people.” Sarah Jane looked at him, “Do you miss it?”

“Sometimes. It was fun and I did love every minute, even the bad times. But it’s not where I’m meant to be. I would never swap my life with you to have that again. Besides, our life is just as crazy, isn’t it?” John replied.

Sarah Jane giggled. They held each other as they sat in silence once again, the faint hum of the TARDIS being the only thing they could hear. John closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the sweet scent of her now drying dark curls. He always adored these moments. Being with Sarah Jane after a day of fighting aliens, so thankful the other was alive. It felt more important after the Chelloth. Though a week had only passed, it had felt like a lifetime for the both of them and every chance they could, they wanted to stay as close to one another as possible.

“I love you too.” Sarah Jane broke the silence in a soft whisper. 

John smiled, kissing her head gently. 

“Are you alright? From today I mean, you weren’t hurt at all?” John then asked.

“No. I’m alright. You didn’t get hurt, did you?” Sarah Jane lifted her head.

“Nah.” John smiled, “I just can’t wait to get home.”

Sarah Jane smiled but she then groaned. She rubbed her head as John frowned, his hand going to her arm as he rubbed it softly.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I just remembered something.” Sarah Jane replied.

“What?”

“I’m probably gonna get a call from Kate when we get home.”

John broke into hysterical laughter. They probably should have cleaned up before they left the museum.


	11. The Missing Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane and John are hit with some very unexpected news.

Sarah Jane ran as fast as she could. She was in some sort of battle barracks in the distant future. She wasn’t thinking straight. She had lost everything. Her husband, her children, her friends. Everything was gone. She wasn’t sure why she was still running but she still had to do something. She had to help Earth. 

The mechanical sounds got closer and closer. Sarah Jane tried her best to get her pace up but she was struggling. She didn’t know how long she had been running. John told her to run in his dying moments. She wanted to stay, to go with him but he had relied on her to do what they came for. Things didn’t make sense as she replayed the events in her head. They had a TARDIS and the kids were older and John was a Time Lord again. So many things didn’t seem totally right but she couldn’t do much right now. Sarah Jane had to move.

Sarah Jane’s heart felt like it was going to burst. She was not sure how long she could go on for. The faint whirring behind her was closing in. She didn’t know how she was going to defeat this one but she had to try. John wanted her to. She could not force her sorrow on the rest of the Earth. But she was so weak. Tears threatened as she found herself at a dead end. Sarah Jane panted, the next breath sharper than the next. She tried to find a ventilation shaft or some sort of door but there was nothing. She was stuck. Sarah Jane Smith was going to die.

She turned slowly as the machine moved around the corner and finally, she was met with her fate. Her oldest enemy. The Daleks.

“Enemy of the Daleks identified. You will be exterminated.” The Dalek screeched as it moved closer to her. Sarah Jane backed into the wall. There was no escape. Not this time, “Exterminate! Exterminate!”

Sarah Jane closed her eyes. Finally, her tears trickled down her cheeks. They were uncontrollable once they started. Her breathing was erratic. She couldn’t control any of it. This was it. This was the end. 

“Exterminate!”   
\- - -

Sarah Jane opened her eyes with a scream as she sat up. She was in a dark room under the covers of a bed. She tried to catch her breath, still in shock and not totally in this world yet. That was until she felt a hand on her back. She gasped as she turned back.

“Sarah?” John’s voice was a little gravelly and rough.

She was home. She was safe. John was alive and that meant her children and friends were too. Sarah Jane started to cry, almost hysterically. John took her into his arms almost instantly as he stroked her hair. Her skin was a little sweaty and he had been aware of her tossing and turning but it wasn’t until she woke up that he paid proper attention to it. Sarah Jane sobbed into his collarbone.

“Shh, shh. It was just a dream. Just a dream. Shh.” John soothed her, rocking her gently. This wasn’t unusual for Sarah Jane. It wasn’t unusual for him either. They both had their fair share of nightmares and they dealt with it the best they could. They knew how to comfort each other and make sure the other knew they were safe but recently, Sarah Jane’s nightmares had got worse. She found herself waking up more in the middle of the night after a bad dream. It could be about anything and usually, Sarah Jane wouldn’t be too distressed, just very tired and maybe a little shook up. But tonight, this had to have been the worst one. Sarah Jane couldn’t remember the last time she properly woke up screaming. It had been a very long time. Even John knew that. He gripped her chin gently as he lifted her face, “Let me see you. Let me see your face.”

John turned on the lamp at his side as he kept a hold of Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane finally looked back up at him. Her eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks were soaking from her tears. Her hair was a little messy but John sorted that, peeling strands of hair from her face. She inhaled sharp breaths, trying her best to calm herself but she couldn’t.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. You’re safe. Nothing’s going to get you.” John stroked her hair, “Just breath, okay? Breath, that’s it. What happened? Tell me, Sarah.”

“It… it was the Daleks.” Sarah Jane said, her breath shaky. She slowly started to cry again, “They killed you and the kids and… I was on my own. And then they killed me too.”

“Shh.” John held her close. He kissed her head softly. Seeing her like this made his heart break. He just wanted to make her better, “They won’t get you, I promise. It was just a dream.”

“It felt so real.” Sarah Jane replied.

“I know but it wasn’t. This is real and you’re safe. You’re safe.” John lifted her head so she could look at him. He wiped the tears from her eyes before kissing her forehead, “I won’t let anything hurt you.”

Sarah Jane nodded as she wrapped his arms around his neck. He brought her closer as he wrapped his arms around his waist. She was on his lap slightly as he rubbed her back. He rocked her gently, feeling her breath come down slowly.

There was a soft knock at the door that broke the silence. They both looked to the door as they still held each other. John gently pushed Sarah Jane off his lap and he helped lay her down again. John walked over to the door as he opened it. There stood Sky with a worried look on her tired face.

“Is everything okay?” Sky asked, “I heard mum.”

“It’s alright. She’s just had a nightmare but she’s okay. Could you do me a favour and go get a cold glass of water for her?” John replied.

“Yeah.” Sky nodded.

“Thanks.” John smiled.

Sky went downstairs and then soon returned to give John the glass of water for Sarah Jane. He then sent off Sky to bed and shut the door behind him. Sarah Jane sat up slowly as John sat next to her. He handed her the glass and she started drinking it. He rubbed her back a little before she put the glass on the side.

“How are you feeling?” John asked.

“Okay.” Sarah Jane nodded, “Was Sky alright?”

“Yeah, she was fine. She just wanted to make sure you were okay.” John replied.

“I feel so bad. I didn’t mean to wake her up.” Sarah Jane said.

“Don’t worry about that.” John cupped her face, his thumb grazing over her cheekbone,”You had a nightmare. We all do. You know what Sky’s like when she has nightmares.”

Sarah Jane giggled at the thought of their daughter climbing into their bed when she had a nightmare. John moved his hand down from her face as he took her hand in her lap. He kissed the back of her hand softly as he looked back at her. He could see her starting to get tired and he knew she needed to sleep.

“Come on.” John said, “Let’s get some sleep.”

Sarah Jane nodded. She got under the cover as John crawled over to his side. He got under the covers and reached over to the lamp on his side but he felt Sarah Jane’s hand on her shoulder. He looked back at her.

“Leave it on. Please.” Sarah Jane said softly.

John nodded with a little smile. He got comfortable in bed as Sarah Jane cuddled into his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, his other hand rubbing her back. Sarah Jane rested her head on his chest as she listened to his heartbeat, her arms wrapped around his waist. John looked down to Sarah Jane with a little smile as he felt her already beginning to fall asleep. He rubbed her back and kissed her head before finally letting his eyes droop shut.

\- - -

When morning came, John let Sarah Jane have a lie in. He cooked breakfast before he and Sky sat in the kitchen and ate at the table. They then went through to the living room, the television on as they talked. They were aware of footsteps in the hall and John got up, climbing over the couch and leaving the room. He could see Sarah Jane’s back in the kitchen as she tinkered in the kitchen. John walked in as Sarah Jane turned around. She didn’t have any makeup on and she looked really fresh. He admired her freckles as he walked into the kitchen, putting his hands in his pockets.

“How are you feeling?” John asked.

“Tired.” Sarah Jane replied. She started stirring her coffee whilst John went over to the oven and took out the plate he made for Sarah Jane. He handed it to her as she turned, “Oh. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” John winked.

Sarah Jane smiled up at him but she then put down her coffee and breakfast on the side. John frowned, unsure what was wrong but he was surprised when she hugged him. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Sarah Jane buried her head in his neck, closing her eyes as she sighed. John rubbed her back softly, taking in the scent of her hair.

“You alright?” John asked gently.

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane replied, “I just… I just…”

“I know.” John nodded. He squeezed her a little tighter, “You don’t want to do this for too long, your breakfast will get cold. And your coffee.”

Sarah Jane looked up at him with a small smile. She moved her arms up to his neck as she wrapped them around it. John’s hands moved up her back as he smiled a little. 

“Don’t dwell on it. You can’t let it bother you.” John said softly

“I know.” Sarah Jane nodded, “I just can’t believe how real it felt.”

“I know but it wasn’t. This is real. You and me, Sky through there, Luke and Sanjay, Clyde and Rani, your breakfast which is getting cold. The Chandras across the road, all the happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs walking around, smelly Ealing.” John smiled. Sarah Jane hit his chest as he frowned, “What was that for?”

“Ealing isn’t smelly.” Sarah Jane’s eyes widened a little.

“It is a bit.” John shrugged with his face scrunched up.

“Your nose is too tuned into your old Time Lord senses.”

“Maybe you should get some Time Lord senses. Sorry, Time Lady. Actually, that would probably not be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“I think you’d probably get a little big for your boots.”

“Says you? King of ‘being too big for your boots’? Or should I say ‘sandshoes’?”

“Very funny.”

“Dad?” Sky called from the living room.

“Yeah?” John replied.

“Can I have a glass of water please?” Sky asked.

“Yep.” John said before he turned back to Sarah Jane, “Sorry, I’d love to stay and chat but my daughter’s shouting for me.”

Sarah Jane just rolled her eyes with a chuckle before kissing him. John laughed as he filled up a glass of water, watching Sarah Jane leave to go through to the living room with her breakfast. John soon joined his wife and daughter, giving Sky her glass of water. They talked rather than focusing on the television but when Sarah Jane finished her breakfast, John insisted on cleaning her dishes. Sarah Jane and Sky talked quietly as the news came onto the television.

“Now, for three days, Donna Temple-Noble has been missing. Police have been searching throughout London and they have now widened their search to the rest of the UK.” The news reporter said. A photo of Donna was in the corner as Sarah Jane sat forward. She couldn’t believe it, “Donna’s family are currently doing a press conference to answer further questions for the press.”

“John! John, come quick!” Sarah Jane called.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” John rushed through, worried that something had happened. Sarah Jane turned to him when he came into the room. His heart dropped when he saw the television, “Oh no.”

They watched as the news channel showed Donna’s family on the television. Wilfred, Sylvia and her husband, Shaun. They answered various questions during the conference before the news showed other key points of the case. Sarah Jane looked at John, noticing his worry as he watched it unfold. She took his hand, stroking it softly. He looked down at her and Sarah Jane could see the tears in his eyes.

“We have to go see them.” John nodded.

“How can we?” Sarah Jane asked, “You said she couldn’t see you again. She would die.”

“We have to help. Donna could be anywhere.” John replied. His heart thudded in his chest as he looked back at the television, “She wouldn’t just go missing. She wouldn’t just disappear. This is more than just a missing persons case.”

Sarah Jane looked back at the television for a moment before looking back at John. She knew she couldn’t stop him and she agreed with him. This was so much more than it seemed. It had to be. Sarah Jane stood from the couch as she cupped his face to make him look at her.

“Let’s go.” Sarah Jane nodded. 

The three headed out to John’s car. John knew exactly where he was going and didn’t say much in the car. When they did pull up to the house, they sat for a moment.

“Are you alright?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah.” John nodded, “We should go in.”

Sarah Jane nodded and the three got out of the car. They walked up the path and stood at the door for a moment. John took in a deep breath before ringing the bell. Sarah Jane held his hand, squeezing it tightly. The door opened and there stood Sylvia. She looked a little hopeful, like there might have been more information on Donna but when she saw John, her face dropped. Her nose turned up a little, anger seething through.

“You’ve got some nerve showing up here.” Sylvia said.

“Sylvia, please.” John said, “I’ve only just heard. I want to help.”

“You can help by leaving.” Sylvia replied.

“Sylvia?” Wilf said from behind her. He walked over to her, “What is it? Who’s at the…” He spotted John. His face lit up unlike his daughter’s, “Door.”

“Hello, Wilf.” John smiled.

“Dad, we’re not letting him in.” Sylvia looked over his shoulder.

“He means no harm, sweetheart. He cares for Donna, you know that.” Wilf replied.

“She could die if she sees him!” Sylvia’s eyes widened.

“But she’s not here right now, is she?” Wilf said. Sylvia immediately backed down. Wilf turned back to the three before him with a smile, “Come in, come in.”

“Thank you.” John smiled, Sarah Jane and Sky following after him.

“I can’t believe you’re here. You said you were going to die.” Wilf pointed to John.

“Oh, it’s a bit hard to explain. Basically, I’m not the Doctor. I mean I am but his old body. I kind of was grown from a hand he lost not long after regeneration. I have Donna to thank for that. I go by John now.” John held out his hand.

“Well, it’s good to meet you. Donna would be so happy to see you.” Wilf shook his hand, “You’ve not got your spaceship, do you?”

“No, more of a Ford Cortina. Oh, this is my wife, Sarah Jane and my daughter, Sky. Sarah, Sky, this is Donna’s granddad, Wilf and her mum, Sylvia.” John introduced the two parties.

“Nice to meet you.” Sarah Jane shook Wilf’s hand.

“And you. You look familiar, were you on the telly?” Wilf asked.

“I’m a journalist, you might know me from Planet 3?” Sarah Jane itched the back of her head.

“That’s it! I liked you on it.” Wilf nodded before he shook Sky’s hand and led them into the living room where Shaun sat, “You won’t have met Shaun then, will you, John?”

“No, no, I haven’t.” John shook his head as Shaun stood from the couch.

“It’s the Doctor. Well, not quite. Human version of him, before you met him.” Wilf pointed to him.

“John.” John held out his hand.

“Shaun.” Shaun nodded as he shook his hand.

“This is Sarah Jane and Sky.” John introduced Shaun and they greeted one another.

“Sylvia, why don’t you put the kettle on?” Wilf asked, to which Sylvia nodded.

They all sat down as John explained how he came to be. Wilf was very curious, asking lots of questions about the hand and his life as a human and what happened after the Doctor left him. Sylvia then returned with their beveridges.

“What happened with Donna?” John asked.

The three looked at one another. Shaun then nodded as he fiddle with his hands.

“Donna had been at work and she told me she was going home soon. I was working a little later so she was going to be home alone. As it got closer to my time for leaving, I was texting her but there was no answer and I just assumed that she was busy. That she was either here or driving or even at the shops but I was still a little worried because she’s usually quick. I tried to not overthink it until I got home and she wasn’t there. I called Sylvia and asked if she was here but she wasn’t. I tried to find any clues in the house. Any sign of a break in or anything she had left behind but there was nothing. Nothing at all.” Shaun explained, “I then decided to call the police and they searched the house and there was nothing. They then found Donna’s car nearby and everything was in it. She had just vanished.”

“Are they using the car as evidence?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah but apparently they’re going to release it to us tomorrow.” Shaun replied.

Sarah Jane and John looked at each other and Wilf caught on.

“Do you think it’s aliens?” Wilf asked, “Do you think they took her?”

“Oh, dad, don’t be so ridiculous.” Sylvia shook her head.

“It wouldn’t be unlikely, sweetheart. She knew the Doctor, they might want her for that.” Wilf replied.

“She can’t remember him.” Sylvia widened her eyes.

“They could still use her.” Sky said. She had remembered when Luke was abducted by the Vizon. They wanted to use his brain to use his knowledge of Earth to destroy it. It could be the same with Donna, “She could still have those memories. Deep down. They might want that.”

“What do you think, John?” Wilf asked, “Do you think that could be the case?”

John, Sarah Jane and Sky soon left the Noble house. They had decided they were going to call Luke so he could bring K-9 to help them scan Donna’s car. Sylvia was not at all pleased about them suddenly coming in and thinking it was aliens but Wilf, like John, knew it was something more. This was something that would not happen to Donna. The next morning, Shaun phoned John to let him know they had the car. Luke was going to meet his parents and sister at the Noble home with K-9.

Sarah Jane, John, Luke and K-9 were all outside at the car as they scanned. Wilf came out with a tray of tea for them. John turned when he saw him.

“Oh thank you.” John said.

“Have you found anything yet?” Wilf asked.

“Not quite.” John replied, “I think K-9 will be able to trace something hopefully.”   
“He’s different, isn’t he? What year did he say he was from again?”

“5000.”

“Woah. That’s a long while away.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

“It’s good to see you. You know, I had a strange feeling you would show up. Or the Doctor. Either or.”

“How come?”

“Well,” Wilf sighed, “Last week, Donna told us she was pregnant.”

John’s head snapped up with a grin. Though she was missing, John was happy to hear that she was pregnant. He knew Donna wanted a family at some point and he knew how she suffered after what happened at the Library. John was so hopeful to find her that once they did, he knew she would be happy.

“That’s great news.” John nodded, “It really is.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it was lovely. I just wish this hadn’t all happened because it takes away that happiness. The happiness Donna and Shaun should have.”

“We’ll find her. I know we will.”

Wilf smiled a little as John went back to scanning again. Wilf leaned on the door.

“You look a lot better, you know. I’m glad you’re here because the Doctor, he was like a broken man.”

“Knowing you’re going to die isn’t exactly the biggest positivity boost.”

“I know but it was horrible. Nothing like I had seen before. Is he… is he dead?”

“No, actually. He’s regenerated. He’s super young now and goes about with a bow tie.”

“Oh, that’s different.”

“Yeah. He’s alright though, a bit big headed.”

“John.” Sarah Jane said from the other side of the car in a telling-off tone.

“He is a bit though.” John shrugged before turning to Wilf who laughed a little, “He is.”

“When did you meet Sarah Jane then?” Wilf asked.

“1973. I was working for UNIT and she tried to do a story there and then ended up travelling with me. Although we got married recently, after I came back from the parallel universe.” John replied, “Luke and Sky are adopted. It’s a long story. Most things are with me and Sarah.”

“You look really happy. Donna would be happy to see you happy.” Wilf said.

John nodded. He felt guilty about everything that had gone on. One of the only things he wanted in this world was to have Donna back because she was her best friend and in a way, he had ruined her life. She wanted to travel with him forever and he wanted that too though it wasn’t possible. 

“Dad?” Luke called.

“Yeah?” John walked around the car, Wilf following behind him.

“No alien energy found, Master.” K-9 announced.

“Nothing? Nothing at all?” John asked as he scanned the car once quickly with his sonic.

“Negative, Master.” K-9 replied.

“What do we do?” Wilf asked.

“I’m not sure.” John said, “This isn’t right. It doesn’t make sense. There has to be something.”

That night, John was in the attic as he tried to think of what had happened to Donna. He had papers everywhere and he had filled up every inch of the darts chalkboard in the corner. Mr. Smith and K-9 were also on duty, scanning for any alien activity in the area the past week or so. It was getting later and later and John had totally lost track of time but he couldn’t stop. He had to find out what happened to Donna. 

He was totally unaware of the footsteps coming up the stairs, focusing on whatever contraption he had just built. The door opened and Sarah Jane walked in slowly. She spotted John sitting on the steps in front of Mr. Smith, K-9 by his side. She closed the door behind her as she tiredly approached him.

“John?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you coming to bed?”

“Give me five minutes. I just need five minutes.”

Sarah Jane said nothing as she walked down to the steps, sitting down next to him. John continued to sonic the device in his hand as he felt Sarah Jane rest her head on his shoulder. She watched him fiddle with the device more, her eyes drooping a little.

“You should go to bed. I’ll be right down.” John said softly.

“I don’t want to leave you on your own.” Sarah Jane replied. She then lifted her head as she looked at him, “You can finish that in the morning, John. It’s late.”

“It’s alright. It’s not too late.” John didn’t lift his head.

“It’s half past one in the morning.” Sarah Jane reminded him.

“Oh.” John lifted his head, “Oh, I’ll never get used to trying to not lose track of time.”

“You need your bed.” Sarah Jane said.

“I just need to finish what I’m doing. Honestly, I’ll be five…” John said but he stopped when Sarah Jane lowered his hands. He bowed his head for a moment before looking at her. He felt defeated, “I can’t find anything. Nothing at all. I’ve tried everything.”

“It’s going to take time. We’ll find her.” Sarah Jane nodded, “You can’t blame yourself for this.”

“If she hadn’t met me, she wouldn’t have gotten into this mess.” John replied.

“Well, I’m not sure about that. You did say she was the one who suddenly appeared in the TARDIS.” Sarah Jane raised a brow.

John chuckled. He then looked around the attic as he sighed.

“Oh, it’s such a mess in here. I’m sorry.” John said.

“It’s alright,” Sarah Jane looked around, “We need to have a bit of a clearout anyways. And we need to sleep.”

John’s head snapped up when he heard the word ‘sleep’. Sarah Jane could almost see the cogs and gears in his brain as he thought for a moment. She frowned. She knew he was onto something.

“What is it?” Sarah Jane asked, “John, tell me. What is it?”

“Sarah, what do you remember of the dream? I mean when the Chivo were here.” John shot up as he grabbed a notebook and pen, “What do you remember?”

“Umm, well, Luke and Sky were babies and then they were Zygons. The Doctor was there too and Gita, Carla and Alan were all those Dalek puppet things Mr. Smith told us about. And I was pregnant.” Sarah Jane replied.

“We’ve already had the Zygons and the Doctor.” John crossed off the list, “And the baby, we were going to call Donna so that’s her and you being pregnant, that was Donna being pregnant.”

“So you’re saying that dream predicted it all?” Sarah Jane asked.

“The Chivo, like Eve, are very sensitive to time. The energy they give off can put you into a deep sleep and show you your future though it can be unclear what will happen.” Mr. Smith explained.

“But we haven’t had the Dalek puppets yet?” Sarah Jane said, “Do you think that’s what took Donna?”

“Maybe. I think they can teleport people.” John said, “I remember on the TARDIS, he mentioned something about them. They ended up in the Dalek Asylum.”

“Yeah, I remember that too.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“Sarah?” John suddenly had a thought.   
“What?” Sarah Jane asked.

“When did your nightmares start? When did they become more prominent, more frequent?” John asked.

“I think not long after the Chivo. I can’t remember exactly.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

“Mr. Smith, K-9,” John grabbed Sarah Jane’s hand as he helped her stand, “Scan Sarah Jane. Try to see if there is any more of the Chivo energy in her system.”   
Both Mr. Smith and K-9 scanned Sarah Jane. Her heart started to beat faster. The dreams she had been having were all over the place and she hoped to God that she didn’t have the Chivo energy left in her body. Especially with the dream she had the other night. She couldn’t face that in real life. When the scans stopped, Mr. Smith showed different readings on his screen.

“Affirmative, master. Mistress Sarah Jane does have Chivo energy in her body.” K-9 said.

“The dog is right.” Mr. Smith said in a snarky tone, “It has resided in Sarah Jane’s body for over three months now.”

“What?” Sarah Jane asked. Her heart started to beat faster. All she could think about was the last dream she had.

“It’s been right under our noses.” John said to himself before looking at Sarah Jane, “Hey.” John could tell she was worried and he knew why. He knew she was thinking of the dream about the Daleks. “We’re gonna be okay. I promise you, we’re going to be alright.”

“But you died in that dream. You all did. I can’t face that. I can’t. You said it wasn’t real.” Sarah Jane’s eyes started to bubble with tears but she tried her hardest to not cry.

“We won’t die. We won’t. I won’t let that happen and I know you certainly won’t.” John held her tightly, “It’s not going to happen.”

“But… the Daleks, you think they are back?” Sarah Jane lifted her head.

“There is a very big possibility. I’m sorry.” John apologised.

“No,” She pressed her finger to his lips, “It’s not your fault, It’s no one’s fault.” Sarah Jane then hugged him again, pressing her face into his collarbone as she closed her eyes. She only wanted to be with him right now and not think about anything else but those thoughts weaved into her mind. It was like a waterfall, she couldn’t stop it, “We need to tell UNIT. We can’t be on our own for this.”

“I know.” John nodded, “I think we can get a hold of a few people.”


	12. The Revenge of The Daleks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old enemy returns...

John quickly got in contact with Kate before calling Donna’s family and also Martha and Mickey. John woke up Luke and Sky and also got Luke to get a hold of Sanjay and Clyde and Rani. John did try to find a way to get a hold of Jack but there was nothing. He was untraceable. The family then headed to UNIT HQ. It was still late and Sarah Jane didn’t agree with this. She was so worried about what was going to happen if this was truly the Daleks and she was not willing to put the kids in danger, nevermind John. Kate was holding an emergency meeting at UNIT for them at John’s request. They soon all filed in, the Smiths being the first to arrive. John explained the situation to them and while some (mostly Sylvia) were sceptical, they knew that he was probably right. It definitely made sense, especially with explaining everything Sarah Jane had seen in her dreams and how the Chivo work.

“I bet they think I’m Mystic Meg.” Sarah Jane whispered to Mickey.

“Well, at least it’s not him because he would probably be blowing it way out of proportion.” Mickey replied, making Sarah Jane laugh.

Kate had scientists and others working on tracing the Daleks or any other threat to the Earth that were capable of kidnapping Donna. They sat for a couple of hours in the large meeting room. Some were asleep, some talked quietly, some were walking around the HQ, usually going to get something to eat or drink or going to the toilet. Sarah Jane sat on the ledge of the large windows. It was raining and Sarah Jane watched the occasional car drive past in the dead of night. She was so worried about everything going on that she could not think straight. She wanted to sleep but she was terrified of what she was going to see if she did close her eyes. She brought her legs to her chest as she leaned against the wall, pressing her forehead against the cold glass hoping that in some way it would stop all these thoughts.

“Hey.” Sarah Jane heard behind her when a hand rested on her shoulder. She jumped a little but her heart rate went down immediately when she saw Rani standing behind her, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a fright.”

“No, it’s fine.” Sarah Jane shook her head with a little smile.

“M&M? I know they’re not a lot but you haven’t eaten in a while and you looked lonely over here.” Rani offered the older woman the sweets.

“No thanks but you’re more than welcome to join the party.” Sarah Jane gestured. Rani sat down opposite her as she made herself comfortable against the other wall, crossing her legs, “Where’s Clyde?”

Rani said nothing as she gestured over to the table. Sarah Jane looked to see Clyde asleep in one of the chairs, his arms crossed as he snored faintly. Sky was sitting next to him, trying to balance Malteasers on his nose as she giggled. He would occasionally itch his nose which would make Sky laugh more. Sarah Jane laughed as she shook her head, turning back to the window.

“Lucky him.” Sarah Jane said, “Although I’m not sure if I would want Sky trying to balance Malteasrers on my nose.”

“Can you not sleep?” Rani asked.

“It’s more than I’m trying not to. God knows what I’m going to see when I close my eyes.”

“You might not dream though.”

“I don’t know that for sure.”

“Maybe you should listen to music or something and sleep. I have my earphones in my bag if you want them.”

“Oh no, that’d be too uncomfortable. Thank you though.”

“What do you think will happen if it is the Daleks?”

“I don’t know. They might come to Earth, I don’t know. I can’t really decide what my favourite outcome will be.”

John had just come in from going to get tea for himself and Sarah Jane when he noticed Sarah Jane and Rani talking at the window. Sarah Jane had been there when he left the room but he didn’t want to disturb her. He hoped she might have fallen asleep by now.

“Hiya.” Rani smiled at John when he came over.

“I see Sky’s annoying Clyde.” John pointed.

“Yeah. I think she saw Luke doing it to him when we went camping and thought it was the funniest thing she’s ever seen.” Rani chuckled before getting up, “Actually, I’m gonna go find Luke, I need to ask him something. I’ll leave you to it.”

John smiled as Rani left him and his wife on their own. Sarah Jane still looked out the window quietly, wrapping her arms around her legs. John turned to her, taking a sip of his tea.

“Can I join you?” John asked, to which Sarah Jane nodded. John sat down before leaning over to her to hand her the cup of tea, “Here.”

“Thanks.” She said softly, taking a sip of the warm tea.

“Have you not slept yet?” John asked though he already knew the answer.

“No.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“You should get some sleep. You look shattered.”

“I can’t. If I see what I saw the other night, I won’t be able to sleep at all.”

“You’re not practicing what you preach, dear.”

“This is different. If you saw what happened in that dream, you wouldn’t want to sleep either. Especially with all of this going on.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’m not worried about me.” Sarah Jane looked at him, “I’m worried about you. I’m worried about our children, our friends. I feel like I’m leading everyone to their death.”

John said nothing as he put his cup on the floor before sliding closer to her. He took the hand that rested on her lap and kissed the back of it gently, holding it in his warm hands. Sarah Jane looked at him. Her heart filled with guilt every time she laid her eyes on anyone in the room.

“We’re going to be alright. I promise you. Whatever happens, we’re going to be alright. I won’t let anyone get hurt, you know that.” John reassured her, “They should be terrified of us. We defeated them last time and we can do it again. All of us. Piece of cake. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Easy as pi.” 

Sarah Jane giggled softly. She moved her hand from his hands, cupping his cheek softly as he smiled up at her. As she looked at him in the moonlight, his chocolate brown eyes staring at her with his short stubble grazing her palm, she could feel her stomach drop. She couldn’t face losing him or anyone else in the room and the thought that this could be the last time they’d be like this was breaking her heart. John watched as Sarah Jane’s face slowly dropped, tears bubbling in her eyes. She knew she was trying to hold it in, her eyes were almost glazed over.

Before John could say anything, a scientist burst into the room. He rushed over to Kate, talking quietly. Kate then turned on the television and flicked over to the news. There seemed to be a broadcast of the Daleks being played live. John shot up from the windowsill, walking over to the television.

“We are here to take revenge on Earth. We have found the person who foiled our plans before and we will kill her and then, Earth will be destroyed.” The Dalek shrieked. They were able to see Donna slightly in the back but she seemed to be passed out which, in many ways, was a blessing, “We are the next generation Daleks and we will destroy you all. Especially you, Doctor.”

“Can you trace that signal?” John asked.

“Yes.” Kate nodded.

“Oh my God.” Sarah Jane looked out the window. There were millions of Daleks in the sky coming to Earth. This was her worst nightmare coming true. 

“Get away from the window.” John took her hand and brought her towards him. John turned to Kate, “We need the coordinates of that ship and then we’re going up. Martha, Mickey, you’re coming with us. Shaun, you too.”

“We need to be quick, the building is starting to evacuate to the basement.” Kate looked at her phone.

“Let’s move then.” John nodded.

They all left the meeting room and headed to the bunkers. There was a teleport that they could use down in the bunker and the coordinates had already been put in for them to leave. The kids wanted to come, wanting to help but Sarah Jane was adamant to not let them come. There was no way she was going to let any part of her nightmare happen. ‘Only the Daleks’ she kept telling herself. ‘Only the Daleks’. John reassured Wilf and Sylvia that they were going to get Donna back and she’d be alright.

When they did teleport, the kids were already trying to convince Kate to let them go up to the Dalek ship. Kate was not going to let them go, mostly because she didn’t want to get into trouble with Sarah Jane. Luke somehow persuaded her to let them go. Sanjay decided he wanted to stay though, he felt he’d be better off on Earth and could help in any way he could. 

\- - -

John, Sarah Jane, Martha, Mickey and Shaun walked quietly through the ship. They teleported to a closed off part of the ship which they were thankful about. MIckey led the way as he held his handgun forward. They approached a large door and John stepped forward, sonicing the door. It slid up and they saw Donna straight away. They all rushed in, Shaun going up to her first. 

“Donna? Donna, come on, wake up.” Shaun cupped her face. He tapped her cheeks as he tried to wake her up. He turned to John, “Is she alright? Is she gonna wake up?”

John scanned Donna with his sonic screwdriver as Martha joined them to check her over when she opened her eyes. She felt groggy but instantly spotted Shaun which soothed her a little. 

“Where are we?” Donna asked.

“It’s hard to explain but we’re going to get you out of here. We’re going home soon.” Shaun reassured her. He then turned to John, “I can’t tell her, can I?”

“Not yet.” John shook his head.

“Can’t tell me what?” Donna asked, “Shaun, what can’t you tell me?”  
Before either men could say anything, Donna spotted Sarah Jane and Mickey behind them. She seemed to recognise them but she couldn’t place what from. She then looked back to Martha and then John and slowly things started to come back to her but it was fuzzy. It wasn’t until she heard the harsh, robotic voice behind them that it all hit her at once. 

“Welcome back, DoctorDonna.”

They all turned to see the Daleks that were behind them. They closed in on them a little as Sarah Jane and Mickey stepped closer to John, Donna and Shaun. Martha got up, standing next to Mickey as the two of them were ready to attack the Daleks of need be. Behind the Daleks, Luke, Sky, Clyde and Rani ran in. Sarah Jane’s eyes widened when she saw them. Her fear now heightened as she saw them. Some of the Daleks turned to them, their guns aimed at them. They held up their hands in surrender.

“Don’t hurt them.” John said, “You don’t show mercy but if you kill my children, I won’t show mercy, got that?!”

There was silence from the Daleks. John stood then, walking past Sarah Jane. Her heart was almost in her mouth when he went right up to the Dalek in front of them. The anger in John was evident.

“Tell me, destroying the Earth? Why?”

“Revenge. Revenge for our leader.” The Dalek said

“You went against Davros.” John replied.

“They did. The next generation did not.” The Dalek replied, “We want to fulfill his purpose.”

“You’re not doing well with not having the reality bomb.” John shrugged.

“We will exterminate this universe planet by planet.” The Dalek shrieked, his anger getting louder and louder in voice, “We will exterminate anyone who comes in the way of the next generation Daleks!”

The Daleks started to chant ‘Exterminate’ throughout the spaceship. The sound almost made the place shake. Everybody but John was terrified. They all thought they were going to die but John somehow knew that they didn’t have the courage. He was aware of a sob behind him and he rushed over to Donna.

“My head.” Donna cried. She held her forehead tightly as Shaun cupped her face, “My head, it hurts so bad.”

“Donna, look at me., you have to look at me.” John said but she just cried.

“Trust him.” Shaun nodded.

“You wiped my mind. And now I’m going to die.” Donna said through gritted teeth. 

“I’m not him.” John shook his head, “Not anymore. I can help you.”

Sarah Jane watched the whole thing play out and she knew what he was going to do. He was going to reverse the metacrisis. She watched as his hands slowly moved up to Donna’s face when she rushed to him. 

“No! No, John! John, you can’t.” Sarah Jane rushed to them. She held his wrists, “John, please. There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. I need to help her, Sarah. She’ll die.” John said, clearly stressed.

“And so will you!” Sarah Jane snapped, “I’m going to lose you.”

“You won’t lose me.”

“I will. You won’t be human anymore. You’ll be different.”

“I can find a way. Sarah, you have to let me go.”

“I can’t. I can’t.”

“Sarah Jane, if you loved me, you’d let me go.” 

Sarah Jane could not believe he said that. Her mouth dropped open a little, looking around herself. She was so surprised that he wanted to use that against her. She looked back at Donna and knew they couldn’t waste anymore time. She moved her hands back onto her lap to let John do what he had to do.

John cupped Donna’s face, letting the reversal begin it’s process. He closed his eyes, unaware of Donna also closing her eyes. Her memories of travelling with the Doctor started to come back even more but it didn’t hurt. Not anymore. The Time Lord energy from Donna flowed into John, the gold energy illuminating them.

“What is this? Explain, explain?” A Dalek shrieked.

“He’s helping her.” Martha smiled, only saying this to Mickey, “Donna’s coming back.”

They continued for a few more seconds before John finally let Donna go. She was a little dazed but she never lost consciousness. Donna was so shocked by the fact she was still alive and she was alright. Donna hugged Shaun quickly, his hand over her small bump.

Before John could let the Time Lord energy reside properly in his body, Sarah Jane grabbed his glowing hands and pressed them against her cheeks. She kept her hands over his, making sure he couldn’t break free. If he had still been a Time Lord, John would have been able to control the energy but because it was new and he was only human, he couldn’t. It almost automatically started to go into Sarah Jane.

“Sarah, no.” John shook his head.

“I have to. I can’t let you do this.” Sarah Jane said, “I’m not losing you.”

John didn’t get the chance to say anything as the Time Lord energy poured into Sarah Jane. It was like a wave crashing into her. She felt everything heighten in her. The pain the energy created in her body was excruciating. She felt both the Doctor and John’s grief. She felt Donna’s rage. And she felt her own fear. John watched as this unfolded in front of him. Her skin was glowing with the energy, her eyes turning gold. He wanted to stop this but he knew it was too late. Way too late. He knew that when she dropped their hands.

“The DoctorDonna has created a weapon. We must exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!” The Daleks all chanted.

“No!” Luke exclaimed as he went to run over to her but Rani and Clyde grabbed onto him, pulling him back.

“We have to stop them! They’ll kill her.” Sky looked at them, “Dad!”

“No, look.” Clyde pointed, “Look at Sarah Jane.”

Sarah Jane got up slowly as she approached the Daleks. John went to grab her but she shook out of his hold, practically pushing John to the ground. The Daleks continued to yell at her but she didn’t even take it in. She lifted her glowing hands, pushing the energy towards the Daleks.

“Sarah Jane, no!” John exclaimed.

Sarah Jane attacked the Daleks with the energy as they started to scream. The energy burned the Daleks, making them all fly back. Some of their heads exploded. Sarah Jane screamed in pain from the energy, tears streaming down her face. 

Sky and Luke knew this was their time to do something. They ran over to a large machine that seemed to control what was going to destroy Earth. As they ran, Sky threw some balls of energy to destroy some Daleks. Clyde and Rani followed after them as Luke chucked his sonic pen to Rani. 

Martha and Mickey shot at the Daleks, making sure they protected Donna and Shaun as he helped her stand up. John couldn’t believe what was unfolding in front of him. All he wanted was to protect Sarah Jane but he couldn’t. He had done this to her. It was all of his fault.

There was a Dalek that had managed to get past Sarah Jane’s power and now approached the couple. John turned as the Dalek moved closer and closer. He knew that the Dalek was going to attack Sarah Jane and he quickly took out his sonic screwdriver, his hands shaking as he changed the settings. The Dalek had to be now a couple of metres away but they were closer to John than they were Sarah Jane. They were going to kill John. 

“Exterminate! Exterminate!” The Dalek chanted.

Before John could fully grasp onto what was happening, Sarah Jane spun around and shot the Time Lord energy out at the Dalek. She was able to pick the Dalek up with the energy and threw them against the wall, the machine screaming as they smashed into the wall. John looked back at Sarah Jane when she turned to the other Daleks to finish what she was doing. He could see the anger in her face but also the pain. He knew that she would not be able to hold out for much longer.

The kids focused on destroying the machine which they did with Sky’s powers. The machine also seemed to control the Daleks and many of them powered down. They only hoped that the ones on Earth powered down too.

John didn’t focus on anything but Sarah Jane. He could tell she was weakening when the Daleks started to die out in front of her. When they had all been destroyed, the Time Lord energy seemed to fade away from Sarah Jane. Her eyes and hands stopped glowing and she started to lose her balance. John rushed over to her quickly, holding her as he brought her to the ground slowly. She was totally unconscious and looked pale. He cupped her cold cheek, wiping her tears from her face. He didn’t know what to do or what to expect. He just looked at her, hoping she’d wake up. Martha went over to them as she checked Sarah Jane’s pulse before pulling her eyelids back to look at her eyes.

“She’s okay, isn’t she?” John asked. He couldn’t think straight right now to check on her himself. He held her tightly as he looked at Martha, “Martha, she’ll be alright, won’t she?”

“She’s fine. She’s fine.” Martha nodded, “We should take her to a hospital.”

“UNIT have a hospital inside.” Luke said as he joined his parents and Martha on the ground, Sky following behind him.

They got a hold of Kate and she got them home, destroying the Dalek ship once they were back. They were then taken to the hospital part of the HQ. Wilf and Sylvia were so happy to see Donna home and know that she was safe. Sarah Jane was in a hospital room and was being checked over so none of them were allowed in. Luke, Sky and Sanjay went to go get some coffee and Clyde and Rani were calling their parents to check if they were okay. John sat outside the hospital room, bouncing his leg nervously as he clasped his hands together. He totally tuned out to his surroundings, his thoughts only about Sarah Jane. He was so worried but so angry with her too. She could have killed herself doing what she did. He understood, he absolutely did. She didn’t want him to die or anyone else to die and she did that to protect him. But she could have destroyed everything with that power. Especially herself.

“You’ve got some explaining to do.” A familiar voice said in front of him. He lifted his head to see Donna standing in front of him with her arms crossed, “You look awful.”

“Thanks.” John laughed, “You look lovely.”

“Thanks. You heard then?” Donna rubbed her stomach.

“Wilf told me.”

“Of course he did.” Donna sat with him, “So, metacrisis, explain. I obviously am still as smart as you but you’re not a Time Lord anymore, space boy. You’re also back in this universe which you said can’t happen and you’re married to Sarah Jane? It’s a lot to unpack.”

“It’s all a bit wizard, isn’t it?”

“Oh it is.”

“You’re going to have to start calling me ‘earth boy’ rather than ‘space boy’ now.”

“Nah, never gonna happen. You’re still a bit spacey.”

“Thank you, Donna. Right, where shall I start?”

“Metacrisis.”

“I was able to reverse it and put all that energy back into me so I would be a Time Lord again. But then Sarah Jane decided she wanted to take it and she destroyed those Daleks.”

“But she didn’t die? Or you didn’t have to make her forget?”

“I think her forcing all the energy onto the Daleks, it drained out of her. I don’t think there was much actually left by the time it got to her.”

“Okay, parallel universe? You were with Rose.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. My place was here, with Sarah Jane.”

“But that would have tore down the walls of the universe?”

“Well, there was a crack in the universe that helped me get through. I have to thank the Doctor for that.”

“He’s still alive then?”

“Yep. Regenerated though, not as good looking though.”

“Yeah, yeah. Was Rose alright in the end? You didn’t break her heart?”

“No. Rose helped me get here. She sent me away.”

“At least she’s alright. I would have killed you if you hurt her.”

“Quite right to.”

“And Sarah Jane?”

“I’ve always been in love with her. It just took over two hundred years to figure out.”

“I should have known.” Donna sat back, “I felt it too, you know. I almost kissed her on the TARDIS after the Crucible.”

John laughed. He then looked back at Donna as she rested her head against the wall. She looked at him.

“I am sorry, Donna. I shouldn’t have put you through that.” John said, “I wish I could have helped you the best I could.”

“It wasn’t really you, was it? It was him.” Donna replied but she took his hand, “But I appreciate it. And I’m glad to have it all back. Including you, space boy.”

John smiled but suddenly, the door of Sarah Jane’s room opened as a doctor stepped out. John shot up, his nerves building more and more in him. Luke, Sky and Sanjay were just coming back when they spotted the doctor leaving the room.

“You can see her, she’s sleeping though.” The doctor explained.

“Is she alright?” John asked.

“Yes, she’s fine. She needs to rest.” The doctor explained before leaving.

“I’ll leave you to it, I need to have my scan anyway.” Donna tapped his shoulder.

John went into the room and noticed Sarah Jane in the bed. She was still quite pale but looked a little better. All the anger he felt earlier seemed to fade away when he saw her. Though she wasn’t conscious, he was so happy that she was alive. He pulled a chair next to her, sitting next to her as he took her hand. Luke, Sky and Sanjay came in after them. Sky sat in the other chair near John, almost instantly falling asleep when she sat down. Luke and Sanjay also sat down and soon fell asleep. John was tired but he didn’t want to sleep. Not yet. Not until Sarah Jane woke up.

They waited half an hour or so. John held her hand as he rested his head above their hands when he could feel her twitching slightly. He frowned as he lifted his head tiredly. John noticed Sarah Jane opening her eyes slowly. She turned her head to him and smiled when she saw him.

“That wasn’t a dream, was it?” She asked, her voice very gravelly.

“Nope. All real.” John laughed. She stroked her hair, pushing her fringe out of her face, “But it’s okay. You’re okay. You stopped them.”

“I didn’t mean to do what I did.” Sarah Jane shook her head. She knew he had been angry with her. She could remember how she felt it within her. Her eyes started to fill with tears, “I couldn’t let you be like that again.”

“In a way, I’m glad you did. I didn’t want to be a Time Lord again. Although I didn’t expect my wife to take it from me.” John replied. He then kissed her forehead, “You can be a silly girl at times.”

“And you can be a brute.” Sarah Jane replied. She cupped his face, stroking his cheekbone gently, “I’m so glad to see you. I thought I was going to lose you.”

“Never. Never ever.” John shook his head, “You made sure that wasn’t going to happen, remember?”

“The kids are alright, aren’t they?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah, all fine.” John looked around the room, “They need their bed.”

Sarah Jane giggled as she looked at them all asleep. She looked back at John.

“Donna’s alright too, isn’t she?”

“She’s fine. We saved her.”

“She can remember you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, she can.”

Sarah Jane took his hand, kissing it gently. The two smiled at each other for a moment. There was then a soft knock at the door which made the couple turn. Clyde and Rani stood at the door with smiles on their faces.

“How are you feeling?” Rani asked.

“Better. A lot better, thank you.” Sarah Jane said as she squeezed John’s hand before crossing her arms, “Although you didn’t listen to me when I told you to stay here.”

“Totally Luke’s fault.” The couple both pointed at Luke who was asleep behind them. Clyde then continued, “He practically begged Kate to let us go. You’ve got to give it the boy, he’s learning!”

Sarah Jane and John both chuckled. Rani walked over to the bed as she held a piece of paper, sitting on the other side of Sarah Jane as she handed it to her.

“What’s this?” Sarah Jane asked. She looked at the piece of paper and it was a printed out article.

“The cover story for them finding Donna. And look who wrote it.” Rani pointed with a grin.

Sarah Jane squinted her eyes as John put his reading glasses on. Clyde and Rani couldn’t help but chuckle at them trying to read the piece of paper but the two both looked at them with big grins. Rani had written the article.

“Rani! Oh, Rani, well done!” Sarah Jane laughed as she went to hug the young woman, “Did Kate ask you to do it?”

“Yeah, she asked about uni and then asked if I wanted to do it so I said yes. It’s definitely good work experience.” Rani shrugged.

“Absolutely. Oh well done.” Sarah Jane smiled at her.

They were soon all able to go home. John drove home as Sarah Jane looked out the window. Some of the streets were in such a mess and it seemed like the UNIT soldiers were all over the place as they tried to get rid of the shutdown Daleks on the streets. John had given them strict instructions to take them off the streets and destroy them. They could not face another invasion happening. 

When they got home, they all headed to bed straight away. It had been a very long night and they needed their sleep, especially Sarah Jane. After a long sleep, John opened his eyes slowly. He could see the digital clock on his side. 16:21. ‘Not a bad kip’ he thought. John rolled over onto his back. Sarah Jane lay next to him still asleep. She was lying on her side facing him, her arm underneath her head. She sighed softly in her sleep, getting a little more comfortable as she wiggled slightly. Sarah Jane looked so peaceful and John could not help but stare. She was so beautiful. The fact he almost lost her seemed to hit him differently now they were together like this. He was so grateful that she was alive, even more so than he normally would have been after a day filled with chasing aliens.

John pushed her hair off her face gently, pushing it behind her ear. The soft tickle of his fingers in her hair made Sarah Jane stir a little and slowly, she opened her eyes. John smiled when she opened her eyes, his hand resting on her cheek as he grazed his thumb over her cheekbone.

“How are you feeling?” John finally asked.

“Alright. A little sore.” Sarah Jane replied, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” John nodded.

“How long have you been awake?”

“Not long. A few minutes.”

“Oh.”

“Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah I did.” Sarah Jane said as she moved closer to him. She lay across his chest, the two now face to face, “You know what I dreamt about?”

“What?” John asked.

“We were on Florana and we were on the beach with all the kids. They were running about and swimming and the sun was splitting the sky.” Sarah Jane smiled as she explained her dream. John chuckled as he listened, “And we went for a swim and we had a picnic too. There were flowers everywhere, it smelled great! The water did help me swim too! I didn’t drown.”

The two laughed. John pushed her hair off her face again as Sarah Jane studied his face. She could see his expression change slightly. She frowned.

“What’s the matter?” Sarah Jane asked.

“I never took you to Florana.” John said, “How do you know what it looks like?”

“I remember how you explained it to me. I also asked Mr. Smith to show me what it looked like. That was one of the first things I asked him when I built him.” Sarah Jane replied, “I kinda have an idea of what it looks like.”

“Oh, Sarah.” John cupped her face. He felt horrible thinking about everything they had been through. He always promised to take her to Florana and they never did go. John wished he could replay some of their travels together so he was able to take her to places that he promised but especially Florana, “I should have taken you there.”

“Don’t worry about that now.” Sarah Jane leaned in a little closer, resting her head down on his chest, “We’ll probably go soon.”

“We don’t have a TARDIS.” John frowned.

“No, but never say never.” Sarah Jane shrugged, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we got zapped to Florana one day.”

“That’s true.” John laughed. He then looked at her again as he rested his hand on the base of her neck, “I love you, Sarah Jane. I love you so much.”

“Good, because I love you too.” Sarah Jane smiled, moving closer to him.

The two kissed softly. They giggled into the kiss a little, holding each other lazily. When they did break off the kiss, the two looked at one another for a moment before cuddling into each other. Their arms were wrapped around each other, their heartbeats syncing as they slowly dozed off once more.


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Over a year after the Daleks, Sarah Jane and John have a very normal life (to a certain extent) and decide to have a barbecue.

Sarah Jane ran down the hall quickly. She looked back, pointing her sonic lipstick at the doors behind her to lock them. She then reached the doors she was running to them but suddenly the exit was blocked by the alien she was running from. The Sontaran stood in front of her as they pointed their blaster at her. Sarah Jane looked around herself, trying to find a way out but she was stuck. She would have run back to the doors behind her but she knew the Sontaran would kill her as soon as she turned around. She closed her eyes as she held up her hands in surrender, waiting for the blaster to hit her. Her mind went on overload with all the thoughts going through her mind but she almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a loud ‘clunk’ sound followed by a thump to the ground. She opened one eye to see the Sontaran passed out in front of her and John standing at the exit as he swung the hammer in his hand a little.

“You took your time.” Sarah Jane huffed as she put her hands on her hips.

“Sorry, honey, I got caught up a little. More tied up actually. You know how it is.” John shrugged as he walked over to her, gesturing to the cut wire that was still on his wrist, “Most wives thank their husbands for saving their lives, you know.”

“You’re piling it on a bit thick today.” Sarah Jane said, grabbing his hand as she took the wire off his wrist and threw it to the ground.

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

“Oh. Sorry. I’ve been talking like that all day.”

“Exactly.” Sarah Jane nodded, her hand on his chest. She then went into her pocket as she took out a teleport device. She crouched next to the Sontaran as she fiddled with the device, “Where’s Sky?”

“She’s at the car. I told her to go back to the car because I was going to find you.” John replied. Sarah Jane then looked at him, raising her brow as he spoke, “Which probably means that she isn’t actually at the car and instead, looking for us.”

“Yep.” Sarah Jane nodded. She stuck the teleport onto the Sontaran’s back as she stood back. She aimed her sonic lipstick at the device and then the Sontaran disappeared, “Well, that’s that sorted. Now to find Sky.”

“She won’t be far.” John shrugged before turning to the doors Sarah Jane had locked, “Let’s go this way.”

“We’d be easier to call her. We don’t have much time.” Sarah Jane replied.

“It’s only gone twelve now, Sarah, we’ve got enough time.” John shrugged.

“To get back in time for you to start the barbecue? No way. We need to hurry up.” Sarah Jane shook her head.

“It’s only a barbecue, it won’t take long. Besides we’re gonna have it on through the day.” John shrugged.

“That’s for fourteen people including us and Sky and we told people to be at ours for half one?” 

“Well, first of all you forgot Lily and second of all, Martha and Mickey are coming later on so technically we won’t be feeding fifteen people until around half three.”

“Lily’s not going to be having anything from the barbecue because she’s nine months old.”

“Well, that’s not my choice, that’s hers.”

“There you two are.” Sky announced herself which made Sarah Jane and John turn, “I’ve been looking for ages.”

“I told you to stay at the car? Do I have a face that says ‘do not, under any circumstances, listen to me’?” John asked as he put his hands on his hips.

“Yes.” Sarah Jane and Sky said in unison.

“Well, you would say that. You never stay put. I wonder where she got the ‘wandering-off trait’ from.” John turned to Sarah Jane.

“Come on, dear.” Sarah Jane took his hand, “We need to get home.”

They headed to Sarah Jane’s car that was parked not far away from where they were all standing in the old factory. They left the factory grounds and headed home. The traffic was slow today and they sat quietly in the car as they waited. John tapped on the steering wheel with his fingers gently as he looked out of his window. Sarah Jane sighed, looking at her watch. 

“We’re going to be late to our own barbecue.” Sarah Jane said.

“We won’t be late.” John shook his head.  
“Well, that clock is creeping very quickly towards half twelve. At this rate, Martha and Mickey will be at our house before us.” Sarah Jane crossed her arms as she sighed.

“It’ll be fine. It’s just roadworks. See, we’re moving now.” John started driving. They didn’t get very far. Only in the spot the car in front of them was in before, “Still progress.”

“I should have drove home.” Sarah Jane pressed her head back against her headrest.

“And would you have got us home quicker?” John asked.

“Yes, I would have.” Sarah Jane nodded.

“How? Please enlighten me.”

“Um, let’s see. I drive faster and I wouldn’t have sat in this traffic jam for this long.”

“Yeah, but your driving is lethal.”

“Oh, don’t go there, John.”

“Well, I nearly ended up through the windshield the other day!”

“You were leaning forward and I had to drive that fast. We did have those Judoon to deal with.”

“I was not leaning forward.”

“Really because your head was practically in the glovebox looking for a bloody Werther's Original!”

Suddenly, cars started to beep their horns behind them. Sarah Jane and John frowned as they looked behind them before looking forward. The traffic lights had gone green and the cars in front were gone. Sarah Jane and John quietly sat back in their seats, John putting foot down as he started driving again. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Sarah Jane finally broke it.

“You didn’t change the lights, did you, Sky?”

“I might have done.” Sky played with her fingers, waiting to be told off by her mum. 

“Did you do the other side?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Might have done.” Sky repeated.

John started to snicker which made Sarah Jane look at him. He burst out into laughter, knowing his daughter did that to prove a point that was probably that their bickering was stupid and they should let her use her powers more. Sarah Jane started to laugh too for the same reason. They didn’t need to talk to know what the other was laughing at. Sky laughed with them, secretly feeling very smug that she had in fact proved her point.

They did manage to get home in time for John to start up the barbecue. Sarah Jane was in the kitchen as she grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge. She opened the drawer and pulled out the corkscrew when John came into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw him.

“How’s the barbecue?” Sarah Jane asked.

“It’s going great. Molto bene! I thought I’d just come in to get a...” John said as he fiddled with a ball of fluff he found on his shirt. He then looked up at Sarah Jane as she turned to him. She had changed into a green floral dress that had short sleeves, a sweetheart neckline and it went down to her shins. On her feet, she wore a pair of flat camel slip on sandals. She didn’t have any makeup on and her slightly tanned skin brought out her freckles. He walked over to her, “Drink.”

Sarah Jane noticed him coming over to her as she nodded a little. She was about to walk out of the kitchen when he grabbed her hand. 

“What is it?” Sarah Jane looked back at him.

“Come here.” He pulled her closer to him.

“I need to go outside.” Sarah Jane said before giggling a little, “John?”

“I just want to see you.” John spun her a little before they moved closer to each other, “You look beautiful.”

Sarah Jane smiled, a faint giggle leaving her lips. The doorbell then went as the two turned. 

“I’ll get it.” Sarah Jane smiled before she kissed his cheek.

John watched her (and her bottom) as she left with a smile on his face. Sarah Jane opened the door to Luke and Sanjay. The two had recently got engaged a few weeks before and Sarah Jane and John were ecstatic for them. After Luke and Sanjay arrived, more of their guests came. 

The sun shone down on the garden as they all sat. Clyde was at the barbecue as he talked to Mickey about his new comic deal he got for his comic ‘The Silver Surfer’. John walked over to them, jokingly pushing Clyde out of the way as he continued to work at the barbecue. Sky and Jade were showing August around the garden, pointing at different plants and some bugs that flew around them. At the bench, Rani was telling Sylvia, Luke, Shaun, and Kate about her recent trip abroad for her first major story after university. At the garden chairs, Donna, baby Lily, Sarah Jane, Wilf, Sanjay and Martha were sitting at the garden chairs as they roared with laughter.

“And then this Slitheen came running at me and Sky threw vinegar and it went everywhere! And then she goes,” Donna explained her first time fighting aliens with Sarah Jane and John as she gestured to Sarah Jane who was sitting next to her as she bounced Lily on her lap a little, “ ‘Oh well, we better get home’ and I’m standing there, covered in alien guts like ‘A bloody alien has exploded all over me and you’re like yeah, let’s just go home’.”

They all laughed loudly, Martha wiping her eyes as she laughed. Sarah Jane covered her mouth, bowing her head as she giggled. They all continued talking as Sarah Jane looked around her garden. She watched her children and all their friends. Her life had changed so drastically over that past few years. She used to be so lonely. She only really had K-9 but now, she had friends, she had children and she had a husband. Technically, she did have the Doctor back but John was so much more than the Doctor and she loved him so much. Sarah Jane looked over to John. He stood at the barbecue, talking with Mickey and Clyde who was now manning the barbecue once more. He laughed at a joke Mickey made, making Sarah Jane smile.

Sanjay started telling a story about the Slitheen as Sarah Jane turned to look at baby Lily. She sat on her mother’s lap but looked up to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane smiled at the baby, sticking her tongue out as her goddaughter laughed. She laughed too, stroking her finger against Lily’s soft cheek. Sarah Jane then noticed her glass was empty and excused herself from the table as she got up. She headed over to the barbecue, smiling at Sky when she looked at her. John turned when he saw Sarah Jane approaching. John nodded to the two men beside him before putting his hands in his pockets and stepping away from them.

“Sarah?” John called. Sarah Jane looked up as she walked. John approached her, “Where are you going?”

“Top up.” She shook her glass, “There’s more wine in the kitchen, right?”

“Uh yeah. Should be.” John nodded. Sarah Jane was about to walk out of the garden when he followed after her, “Actually, I’ll come in with you.”

Sarah Jane giggled a little as they headed inside. Sarah Jane went into the fridge as she grabbed another bottle of wine. John watched her as she opened the bottle, pouring herself another glass of wine.

“Do you want a glass?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Nah, I’m alright, thanks.” John nodded. 

He walked over to her, resting his hand on the slope of her back. Sarah Jane looked up at him as she smiled.

“You okay?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Yeah, I’m great. You?” John asked.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded. She looked back at him as she squinted her eyes, “You’re looking at me strangely. What’s wrong?”

“I’m not looking at you strangely.”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not. I’m just looking at you. Looking at how beautiful you are.”

“Ha-ha.” Sarah Jane nodded sarcastically.

“Do you not believe me?” John asked, moving in to kiss her cheek.

Sarah Jane turned her face before he could kiss her cheek. She looked up at him, her brow raised. John grinned, swinging a little on his heels. Sarah Jane couldn’t help but laugh.

“You do look beautiful.” John raised a brow.

“You already told me that.” Sarah Jane replied.

“Am I not allowed to tell you again?” John asked.

“Hmm, maybe once more.” Sarah Jane put her finger to her mouth before laughing.

John laughed too, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He pulled her close, kissing her temple.

“You always look beautiful.” John said softly. Sarah Jane looked up at him as she put her glass down on the bunker, wrapping her arms around his waist as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They looked at one another, John pushing a strand of hair from her face, “I’m sorry. About earlier by the way.”

“What for?” Sarah Jane frowned.

“In the car. I said ‘your driving was lethal’.” John replied.

“Oh John.” Sarah Jane chuckled, “You don’t need to apologise. You’re not really wrong, are you?”

“You are a good driver.” John nodded.

“Don’t lie.” Sarah Jane pushed him a little, “Besides, I should be the one apologising. Having a go at you about being in traffic.”

“Do you think we secretly like arguing in the car?” John asked.

“It is inevitable when you look at the size of both our cars.” Sarah Jane replied. 

The two laughed. John then bowed his head, sighing for a moment. He looked back at her as she smiled up at him. 

“I probably should apologise more. I’ve put you through a lot, Sarah. Even today, you nearly died.” John said, “There’s times I’m so scared that I’ll be too late.”

“Don’t think like that.” Sarah Jane shook her head as she cuddled into him, “You’ve done nothing wrong. You were there when I needed you today, you always are. We can’t afford worrying about that.”

“I don’t think I’m totally used to being human yet. I don’t know if I ever will. I worry about things that I wouldn’t usually worry about if I was him.” John replied.

“That’s not a bad thing. That’s what makes you you. It’s why I love you so much.” Sarah Jane looked up to him, “I think you’re more human than the rest of us.”

“When did you get so wise?” John stroked her cheek, “Wiser than all of us.”

“I had a good teacher.” Sarah Jane shrugged with a grin. John chuckled. Sarah Jane snuggled in a little more, rubbing his back gently, “You know, you don’t need to apologise. Don’t apologise for any of that. I know you want to protect me, I know you don’t want me to get hurt. I feel the same way about you. But we’ll be alright, we always are.” Sarah Jane continued, a little chuckle in John’s throat. Sarah Jane then looked up as she rested her hand on the base of his neck, “Don’t ever apologise about everything we’ve been through. If it meant I could go through all of that to get to here, I would. I love our life. I don’t care about the aliens or the craziness or the nightmares, we have our wonderful, beautiful children and all our wonderful beautiful friends and I have you. What more could I want?”

John smiled down at her. He cupped her cheek, bringing her lips to his. They held each other close. Their kiss was loving and they found themselves forgetting that all their friends and family were outside having a barbecue. Sarah Jane moved her hands down to his chest, John wrapping his arms around her shoulders. They broke off the kiss for a moment before planting one more soft, quick kiss on their lips. They looked at each other.

“I love you.” John said, cupping her cheek as his thumb ran across her bottom lip gently. He grinned, “My Sarah Jane.”

“I love you too.” Sarah Jane giggled, standing on her tiptoes as she gave him one last kiss, “We better go outside. They’re gonna wonder what we’re doing.”

“What will they think we’re doing?” John frowned as he watched her going to grab her wine glass and the bottle. She gave him a look and he knew exactly what she was on about, “Oh come on, Sarah. No one will think that.”

“I dunno. You know what Donna can be like.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Oh, she’s going to be full of innuendos when we go outside. Can’t wait!”

Sarah Jane giggled, bumping her shoulder to his. John smiled down at her, putting his arm around her shoulder as they left the house and went to the garden. Life was perfect, even when the aliens were there.


End file.
